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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



ChapS&a Copyright No... 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



A 



LOOKER ON 
IN LONDON 



By, MARY H. KROUT 
vfuthor of Hawaii in Time of Revolution 




NEW YORK: DODD, MEAD 
6f COMPANY, MDCCCXCIX 



> 
« 




42749 



Copyright, 1899, 

BY 

Dood, Mead & Company. 
T WO COPIES DECEIVED. 







*i 1899 



^ 






THE LIBRARY| 
| OF CONGRESS 

WASHINGTON 



To 

Susan Elston Wallace, 

the friend of a lifetime, whose counsel and 

sympathy have made possible whatever of value it 

contains, this book is affectionately 

Dedicated. 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER I 
Going Down to London 5 

CHAPTER II 
The Opening op Parliament 18 

CHAPTER III 
Lord Leighton 88 

CHAPTER IV 
Apter the Season and London Weather - ... 85 

CHAPTER V 
Carlyle's House 45 

CHAPTER VI 
Pentonville Prison 58 

CHAPTER Vn 
In the Lower Courts 08 

CHAPTER VIII 
English Women and Their Appairs 78 

CHAPTER IX 

Women's Clubs 79 

▼ 



vi Contents 

CHAPTER X 
Women's Schools and Colleges 100 

CHAPTER XI 
The Queen's Bounty U4 

CHAPTER XII 
The Annual Habitation op the Primrose League - - 125 

CHAPTER XIII 
In Kentish Fields ' - - - -134 

CHAPTER XIV 
Henley 146 

CHAPTER XV 
The Princess Maud's Wedding 155 

CHAPTER XVI 

The Death op the Prince op Battenburg - • - 163 

CHAPTER XVII 
The Venzuela Controversy 171 

CHAPTER XVIII 
The Chartered Company ....--. 196 

CHAPTER XIX 
The Jameson Trial - 206 

CHAPTER XX 
The Jameson Trial : continued 237 

CHAPTER XXI 
Cipher Messages 248 



Contents vii 

CHAPTER XXII 
Before the Lord Chief Justice 270 

CHAPTER XXIII 
The Diamond Jubilee 308 

CHAPTER XXIV 

The Princess of Wales' Dinner to the Crdppled Chil- 

dren 331 

CHAPTER XXV 
The Illuminations 831 

* CHAPTER XXVI 
Commemoration at Oxford 3* 4 



PREFACE 



That period between the opening of Parliament in Au- 
gust, 1895, and the celebration of the Diamond Jubilee in 
1897 must be recorded as a peculiarly interesting epoch in 
English history. In that interval the Conservative party 
was returned to power with such a majority as it had not 
boasted "for two generations ;" after twenty years of parley 
the reduction of Ashantee was effected in which the life 
of Prince Henry of Battenberg was sacrificed ; the contro- 
versy which had been pending between Great Britain and 
Venezuela relative to their boundary lines was submitted 
to arbitration, after more than fifty years of controversy ; 
the invasion of the Transvaal by Dr. Jameson with an 
armed force was followed by the arrest of the leaders, 
their return to England, their trial and conviction. The 
Jubilee year, marked by important state ceremonials, bril- 
liant pageantry and universal public rejoicing, was spe- 
cially set apart as a season of profound interest ; the na- 
tional and international congratulation and veneration of 
a sovereign, whose long reign had been one of unusual 
splendor, and whose greatness as a ruler had been equaled 
only by her virtues as a woman. The Jubilee year was 
also a marvelous reminder of the extent, the power and 
wealth of an empire whose possessions girdled the globe. 

While these events are already familiar to the read- 
ing public, it has been thought worth while to gather to- 
gether their salient features and their more interesting de- 
tails, as they came within the observation of an eye-wit- 
ness, and to preserve them in this condensed form for the 

1 



2 Preface 

convenience of any one who may desire definitely to recall 
them. 

The chapters relating to the Jameson trial were written 
from notes carefully taken, day by day, throughout the 
hearing of the cause, both at Bow street and before the 
Lord Chief Justice. The evidence has been condensed 
as much as possible, only such portions being used as were 
necessary to complete a connected account of the raid, 
from its first inception to its conclusion ; and, while it may 
be thought that incidents of an insignificant nature have 
been recorded, this has been done advisedly, in the belief 
that it has added to the accuracy and vividness of the nar- 
rative. I desire in this connection to acknowledge my in- 
debtedness to the London daily newspapers for copies of 
dispatches and such verbatim extracts from speeches a9 
have been quoted. 

It is a trite saying that "comparisons are odious," and 
comparisons between England and the United States seem 
capable of giving peculiar and marked offense; yet it is 
only by comparing that which is unfamiliar to the reader 
to those things familiar to both the writer and his public 
that an approximate idea may be conveyed of matters 
discussed or described; consequently where such com- 
parisons occur in this volume there has been no desire 
either to discredit England at the expense of the United 
States, or the reverse. 

Powerful and prosperous as the United States may have 
become, the daughter still has much to learn of the mother- 
country whose guidance she has thrown off; reverence 
for law, respect for traditions that are entitled to survive ; 
a willingness to live and let live, that "triumphant democ- 
racy" threatens to deny. 

On the other hand, the older government might profita- 
bly emulate American adaptability and readiness in re- 
source and emergency, and ability to relinquish that 



Preface 3 

which should be discarded ; all of which are essential con- 
ditions of growth and development. 

Aside from the interest of general and important politi- 
cal events, which I have imperfectly described in this book, 
the three years spent in England are an unmarred memory 
of happiness and benefit ; it was learned conclusively, for 
one thing, how impossible it is to know a people except 
beside their own hearth and under their own roof; or to 
judge a country and its institutions with any certainty 
except by studying them, without prejudice, upon the soil 
in which they are rooted. 

M. H. K. 

December, 1898. 



A LOOKER ON IN LONDON 



CHAPTER I 

"GOING DOWN TO LONDON*' 

(1895) 

Ten days upon the grey Atlantic, sailing against head 
winds, enveloped in icy fog and wintry rain; it was a 
contrast to the tropic glow and color of the South Pacific! 
But the Fortunate Isles lay beyond, and they were to be 
reached only by those willing to endure the discomfort 
of the cold, northern voyage. The summer of 1895 was 
remarkable for the number of Americans who visited Eng- 
land; it was estimated that at least two hundred thousand 
were in London for a greater or less period during the 
season; the large hotels were crowded, lodging and board- 
ing houses were filled to overflowing, and tourists could 
be counted by scores along Piccadilly, thronging the shops 
in Oxford and Regent streets, and wandering through the 
National Gallery, St. Paul's and Westminster,— the 
women beautifully dressed consulting the inevitable Ba- 

daeker. 

While planning a short tour in England that summer, 
no definite time had been fixed for my departure. It 
was postponed from day to day, and from week to week, 
until the latter part of July. Making the rounds of the 
great shipping offices in Chicago, it was found that, fail- 
ing to engage a berth in advance, but one was to be had, 

5 



6 A Looker On in London 

and this on one of the small steamers plying between New 
York and Glasgow. It was secured and my cabin shared 
with three persons, each one of whom was more impossible 
than the other ; an old English woman who had lived for 
years on Staten Island and was going "home" to visit her 
relations; a pert and ill-bred young Irish girl, and an- 
other young woman who could be described and dismissed 
as harmless. Being a good sailor, the deck, in fog and 
rain, was my refuge, and our enforced companionship 
came to end when we sighted Moville. For the first time 
the sun came out, and the dispirited passengers plucked 
up a little courage, and those to whom the scene was new 
looked out with keen delight upon the rocky islands, and 
the shore beyond which was of intensest emerald green; 
the breath of the land 'was sweet, and there was a tender- 
ness in the low-hanging clouds of softest outlines, strangely 
unlike those that swept across the far-reaching zenith of 
the Western continent. From the sea the north of Ireland 
is a land of plenty and of pastoral loveliness ; of rich fields, 
of solid manor houses with clustering conservatories and 
wooded parks; there was no squalor; no thriftlessness, 
and the few passengers who came on board, well-clad, 
well-bred, gave hints of an Ireland unknown to the Ameri- 
can, who has acquired his knowledge of the Irish exclu- 
sively from the tens of thousands in the United States 
who have had so large a part in shaping the politics of 
their adopted country. 

The landing at Greenock was made the more pleasura- 
ble by an unlooked-for invitation, sent out to the ship,. 
to spend a few days in Edinburgh where I acquired my 
first knowledge of the fine, unpretentious hospitality of the 
Old World. There was one day in Glasgow, five days in 
Edinburgh, every moment of which was precious, seeing 
the wonders of that most beautiful of ancient cities, in 
the companionship of friends whom I seemed to have 



Going Down to London 7 

known all my life; visits to Holyrood, to Edinburgh 
Castle and to Roslin. There was one amusing episode: 
I must be shown the Town Hall; and my friend asking 
admission, was told that "it was closed to visitors for that 
day." He explained that I was an American, the open 
sesame to every place and everything British, and that I 
was leaving the following morning. The rules were in- 
stantly suspended, the closed door was opened, and we 
entered. I had had rather an extensive experience in 
Town Halls in my own country, and recalled their bare- 
ness, their shabbiness, the dead, musty air and the gener- 
ous provisions that had been made for the ubiquitous to- 
bacco-chewer. This was the stateliest of council chambers, 
with a richly carpeted floor, wainscoted and paneled walls, 
upon which hung the portraits of generations of municipal 
dignitaries ; a great table of polished oak occupied the cen- 
ter of the apartment, around it were ranged carved oak 
chairs and upon the shining surface of its entire length 
were bowls of — Howers — actually, flowers, odorous roses, 
pansies and mignonette ! It was the most striking evidence 
I had yet perceived of the wide difference between the Old 
World and the New. 

"I know," said the kind and delighted old friend, who 
was showing me about, "that this will seem very small 
and insignificant to you after the Council Chamber of Chi- 
cago !" 

And I looked again at the exquisite order, and cleanli- 
ness and taste, the refined and intelligent faces looking 
down from their frames above the wainscoting; I recalled 
the Chicago Council Chamber as it was when last I saw it, 
the air thick with smoke and poisonous from lack of ven- 
tilation, the floor defiled, with a confusion of tongues in 
the spluttering talk that went on, which recalled the 
building of Babel. I have never been a blind worshiper of 
crude, bald, brutal bigness, and I would rather have six 



8 A Looker On in London 

feet by ten of order, comfort, taste, than a Sahara stretch 
of bare boards and bleak plaster. However, I was not there 
to betray the city of my adoption, a city of splendid possi- 
bilities, of tireless enterprise, of acknowledged attractions, 
which has amongst its citizens some of the best and most 
truly cultivated people in the world : I therefore said not a 
word, preserving a prudent silence. 

The sailent features of one's first impressions of Scotch 
and English towns is greyness, cleanliness, and an ever 
present smell of smoke. In crossing Scotland it seemed 
strange to see factories in the fields with gravelled walks 
leading to the entrance, and the grain growing thickly up 
to the very walls. The poppies tossing in the wind shone 
through the yellow wheat, red as the scarlet of a fiery sun- 
set. As we rushed across the border into England the 
landscape softened, the bare and rocky hill-sides were left 
behind, and there were meadows of velvety smoothness, 
clipped hedge-rows with elms standing alone that re- 
minded one of a Japanese nosegay — a single flower in a 
vase. Thus isolated, every outline was distinct, the boughs 
drooping in softened curves, foliage that had a sleekness 
as if it had been stroked by the hand. The rows of stone 
cottages by the road-side in the country were unfamiliar, 
but the fat farm horses with their shaggy fet-locks and 
thick manes, the wide, rumbling carts, the people that we 
saw passing along the roads, were the horses and carts and 
people that the English artists had put into their pictures 
since the days of Hogarth; and I recognized them, just 
as I would have recognized friends whom I had never 
seen, from their portraits. 

The pre-conceived ideas which the Americans have of 
the English at home are strange and puzzling ; the Scotch, 
for some reason, they know better. The American who 
visits England for the first time is usually warned against 
the brusqueness, the cold reserve which he is destined 



Going Down to London 9 

to meet on every hand ; he is cautioned never to ask ques- 
tions of any but policemen and the custodians of public 
places; the penalty, one is told, of disregarding this in- 
struction is a chilling rebuff that will not be. easily or un- 
wisely forgotten. It is unfortunately true that the manner 
and conduct of many British tourists in the United States 
gives reasonable ground for this opinion, as the noisy 
boasting, the vulgar display and expenditure of money, the 
ignorance and indifference of the American nouveau nchc 
who goes abroad, furnishes the type from winch unen- 
lightened Europeans form their estimate of the people of 
the United States. 

The little railway carriage in which the long journey 
was made from Edinburgh to London was crowded; but 
travel in the colonies had familiarized me with the narrow 
quarters, the door at the side, half the passengers sitting 
with their backs to the engine, and the absence of the teas- 
ing news boy heaping your lap with cheap novels and 
prize packages, and the unrestrained child racing up and 
down the aisle like an unbroken colt. But the politeness, 
the thoughtfulness of my fellow passengers was certainly 
a surprise: the young man in the corner when he had fin- 
ished his newspaper passed it to his neighbor: a charming 
girl who got out at York left me her magazine, and the 
rosy-faced matron with the capacious lunch basket pressed 
upon me cakes and sandwiches from her abundant store. 
In an English railway carriage, particularly if one is 
an American not too vain of the mere bigness of his coun- 
try and the tallness of its seventeen story buildings, the 
traveller meets the most delightful people, both men and 
women, who take evident and sincere pleasure in pointing 
out places of interest, historic ground, about which gather 
a thousand memories and traditions. 

Upon reaching London one is surprised by the swiftness 
with which the train speeds through suburbs and arrives 



io A Looker On in London 

at the railway station ; it seems but an instant until the last 
of the fields and hedges are left behind, and one is looking 
down upon roofs and chimney-pots — "the sunken city" 
of George Meredith. It may be that the approach seems 
sudden because all of England is so blossomy, so rich in 
verdure, and from the actual fields to the shady garden 
plots of the suburbs the transition is so gradual that the 
streets are at hand before one realizes it. 

It is in the railway station that the new arrival first 
learns that most things English, intended for the public 
comfort, are designed for convenience and not at all for 
show. The great echoing, shadowy King's Cross station 
is barn-like in its bareness, but there is your cab just 
across the strip of asphalt; there is the polite, good-na- 
tured porter with his hand at the cap peak, ready to put 
you into it and pile your luggage on top. Your address 
given the driver, plainly and distinctly, you and your be- 
longings are taken straight to the door of the hotel. One 
has little real cause for regret over the lack of the Ameri- 
can checking system ; the advantages on thai side are over- 
balanced by the privilege of taking your bags and boxes 
with you, and of paying a shilling fare, where, in New 
York or Chicago you would be charged ten times that 
sum. 

To one already impressed by the immensity of London 
the first sight of its tangled streets is like surveying an 
interminable labyrinth, which is without beginning and 
without end ; and here again how grey are the houses with 
their amazing and unfamiliar chimney-pots; how con- 
fused and confusing the tangle of traffic, the endless pro- 
cession of carriages, omnibuses, carts and vans, and how 
like the pictures of Cruickshank, Leech, and DuMaurier is 
the panorama of the pavements — the men, women and 
children, the soldier and nursery maid and the handsome 
guardsman. In an incredibly short time the tangle un- 



Going Down to London 1 1 

ravels itself ; you learn where you are, you become famil- 
iar with your surroundings; you are taught to take the 
first turning on the left and the fourth on the right with 
intelligence and accuracy; you learn a lot of new names 
for every-day things — to call your seat in a theater a 
"stall," to "book" at the "booking office/' to address your 
maid by her surname, and to post, not mail, your letters ; 
you learn to drink your tea at five o'clock like one to the 
manner born ; you become inured to tarts, and with per- 
sistent determination even grow tolerant of Brussels 
sprouts. The acceptance of the bedroom candle, the ab- 
sence of "hot and cold water in every room," seem a 
small price to pay for the homely every-day comfort, and 
the abounding and never-failing joy of perfect service, the 
precious privilege of living in England. And how kind 
with all their shyness, how generous, how fine and simple 
and sincere, always exaggerating any small courtesy on 
your part, and never forgetting an obligation, do these, 
our English kinsmen become, when we at last begin really 
to know them and take up our sojourn in their midst. 



CHAPTER II 

THE OPENING OF PARLIAMENT 

It has been charged that Americans take their pleas- 
ures seriously. However true this may be, there is noth- 
ing in the national temperament approaching the solem- 
nity which invests all affairs in England that may be clas- 
sified under the head of sport. On the sixth of August, 
1895, therefore, the great London newspapers differed 
only in the degree of respect which was shown this impor- 
tant date. The Liberal newspapers headed their list of 
"To-day's Arrangements" with "Grouse Shooting Be- 
gins," endeavoring to tone down the bitterness of their 
recent defeat with the promise of better things at hand. 
The Conservative organs, on the contrary, celebrated their 
triumph boldly by leading off with "Meeting of Parlia- 
ment," referring to the fact that grouse shooting had be- 
gun, as a secondary consideration. 

Through the courtesy of a distinguished Liberal mem- 
ber I received a card of admission to the opening ceremo- 
nies of the House of Lords which were fixed for two 
o'clock on Monday afternoon — the auspicious, or inauspi- 
cious, day according to one's political predilections. Com- 
pared to the very general attendance permitted the public 
at the sessions of Congress in Washington, admission to 
the House of Lords or the Commons appears to be very 
difficult to secure. One is informed that invitations are 
awarded by ballot upon the application of the members, 
and must be promptly accepted or declined, so that, in the 
latter case, the card may be given to some other friend by 

12 



The Opening of Parliament I 3 

the fortunate member to whom the privilege has fallen. 
The card of admission, by its modest hint, "morning 
dress," in the comfortable and sensible English fashion, 
designated the proper costume for the occasion, an impor- 
tant consideration to the visiting stranger. 

I took a cab and was deposited at the Peers' entrance of 
the Parliament building over which a flag was flying, to 
indicate that the machinery of government was about to 
be set in motion. The curbstones along the adjacent streets 
were crowded with throngs of people watching the arrival 
of notables whom the British public appear to know quite 
well by sight, and whom they greet with observations 
which, even in my own democratic country, would be con- 
sidered frank. At the entrance of the House of Peers 
were two polite policemen who scrupulously examined 
my card, and passed me on to successive functionaries in 
scarlet coats and hats of ancient hereditary pattern cov- 
ered with gold lace. These in turn passed me on to other 
policemen and functionaries, all wearing the royal badge 
of office and stationed at regular intervals along a splendid 
corridor lighted with stained glass windows and lined with 
statuary. Up stairs and down I ascended and descended, 
until I was shown my place in what, for the subjects of 
the Queen, is the court of the last appeal. 

As it was an unusual occasion the ladies present were 
assigned to the sacred scarlet benches upon what I was 
informed was the "opposition side." Several were very 
plainly dressed, while others wore broad-brimmed hats 
covered with flowers and lace, and gowns of light silk, 
which were also profusely trimmed with lace. In front 
of the vacant throne — which was a dais with curtains of 
scarlet hanging from a canopy and furnished with two 
stately coroneted arm-chairs — was a cushioned bench re- 
served for the Lords Commissioners. In the peeresses' 
gallery was a small and unobstrusive party talking qui- 



14 A Looker On in London 

etly among themselves. My neighbor was an exceed- 
ingly agreeable woman, certainly not so stiff and reserved 
as an American woman would have been in the gallery 
of the Senate. She asked several questions which I was 
unable to answer, and when I explained that I was an 
American, immediately pointed out the celebrities and de- 
scribed the splendors of the peeresses' gallery during some 
great night debate when the flower of the realm were there 
in state, wearing their coronets and jewels. Finally she 
said very modestly and with an apologetic air for having 
mentioned it at all : 

"My niece is a peeress ;" but of her own evident high 
station she gave no hint. 

Presently two clerks in wig and gown arrived and began 
arranging papers upon a table in the middle of the cham- 
ber. At the door in the rear a group of bishops, their lawn 
sleeves making patches of whiteness in the background, 
were evidently chaffing each other with much animation, 
while a great deal of fraternal hob-nobbing went on among 
the reporters in the gallery just over the big clock and 
facing the throne. One of the representatives of the press 
talked with especial emphasis, so that his conversation was 
distinctly audible from where we sat. Then the bishops 
entered from the door about which they had been standing 
for some time, and took their seats, still chaffing each 
other — cracking ministerial jokes, no doubt, after the 
manner of the cloth, irrespective of creed or rank. 

Immediately afterward the peers came straggling in, 
singly and in groups, all charmingly dressed and wearing 
their hats, which, with but one exception, they at once re- 
moved. The exception was tall, dark and commonplace 
in bearing and appearance, and he retained his hat for a 
few minutes, as if to satisfy the demands of official pre- 
rogative — a very strange one to democratic eyes ; but pres- 
ently he yielded to the force of example, removed it and 



The Opening of Parliament 1 5 

held it on his knee. Many of the faces were interesting, 
and a few were strikingly handsome, high-bred and re- 
fined. 

Promptly at two o'clock the Lords Commissioners en- 
tered wearing their robes of office — voluminous garments 
trimmed in ermine — the Lord High Chancellor, Lord 
Halsbury, Viscount Cross, the Earl of Coventry, the Earl 
of Limerick, and Lord Balfour. The sword and mace were 
borne before them and deposited upon a velvet cushion, 
after which the Commissioners seated themselves and put 
on their three-cornered hats. This ceremony concluded, 
the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod was directed to 
repair to the House of Commons and summon the mem- 
bers to hear the reading of the Royal Commission. As the 
House of Commons was near at hand, there was no very 
lengthy interval of waiting ; the gate separating the corri- 
dor and the floor of the House of Peers was closed and al- 
most immediately the commons arrived, the newly elected 
Conservatives in force, all crowded into a very narrow 
space, standing huddled together in uncomfortably close 
quarters, overflowing into the upper galleries. They were 
led by the Clerk of the House and took the matter any- 
thing but seriously; those who wore monocles adjusted 
them and much joking and inaudible laughing went on 
among them. After the confusion had somewhat subsided 
the Chancellor who remained seated said : 

"My Lords and Gentlemen of the House of Commons : 
Her Majesty not thinking fit to be present here to-day in 
her royal person, hath been pleased in order to the open- 
ing and holding of this Parliament, to cause letters patent 
to be issued under the great seal, constituting us and sev- 
eral other lords therein named her commissioners to do all 
things in her Majesty's name, on her part necessary to be 
performed in this Parliament, and this will more fully ap- 



1 6 A Looker On in London 

pear in the letters patent themselves, which will now be 
read." 

These were read accordingly, by one of the clerks, but 
so rapidly and indistinctly that, although I sat quite near 
the reader, I caught but half a dozen words — the name of 
the Prince of Wales and a statement to the effect that the 
double sheet of parchment which the reader held in both 
hands had been signed by her Majesty, Queen Victoria. 

After this brief formality the Lord Chancellor, still sit- 
ting, spoke again and said : 

"My Lords and Gentlemen: We have it in command 
from her Majesty to let you know that her Majesty will, 
as soon as the members of your houses shall be sworn, 
declare the causes of calling this Parliament : and it being 
necessary that a Speaker of the House of Commons shall 
be first chosen, it is her Majesty's pleasure that you, Gen- 
tlemen of the House of Commons, repair to the place 
where you are to sit and there proceed to the choice of 
some proper person to be your speaker, and that you shall 
present such person when you shall so choose here to-mor- 
row at twelve o'clock for her Majesty's royal approba- 
tion." 

The members of the House of Commons then departed 
to their chamber and the Lords Commissioners also with- 
drew. As the Lords Commissioners filed by, some plebeian 
person got in the way, whereupon the Usher cried sonor- 
ously: "Make way for the Lord Chancellor;" and I felt 
like rubbing my eyes, and would not have been surprised 
at all to have seen about me heralds with their bannered 
trumpets, and Knights in armor with their retinues; it 
gave me a very mixed feeling; reverence for custom of 
historic origin that had survived the wreck of empires; 
and, on the other hand, a confused impression that I had 
spent half an hour with Alice in Wonderland. 

The ceremony in the House of Peers being concluded, 



The Opening of Parliament 17 

those present adjourned to the House of Commons, where 
the transaction of official business was much less pictur- 
esque and a good deal more animated. Many of the Tory 
members had been returned three years before, subse- 
quently defeated and returned again, in the election that 
had just been held, and they could be identified to a man 
by their subdued elation and their circumspect manifesta- 
tions of triumph. 

The Times that morning had remarked that it was a 
memorable meeting, the House of Commons for the first 
time in two generations having given the government, 
which was in a minority of twenty-eight when the disso- 
lution took place, a majority against all comers of 152. 

Among the early arrivals were Sir R. Reid, late Attor- 
ney-General; Sir J. C. Colomb, Sir John Lubbock, the 
Marquis of Lome, Sir W. Kay Shuttleworth, and Mr. 
William Woodall who, under the recent government had 
held the important position of Financial Secretary of the 
War Office. The Anti-Parnellites were represented by 
T. P. O'Connor, Mr. Dillon, Dr. Tanner, Mr. McNeill, 
and Mr. T. M. Healy. The galleries were filled ; the nar- 
row loft, with its tantalizing grille apportioned to the 
women, being uncomfortably crowded. 

It had been agreed, in recognition of certain conces- 
sions, that Mr. Gully, the Speaker of the House recently 
dissolved, should be retained in his important office, so 
that the business of election was merely nominal. Of his 
re-election two very interesting views were taken; one 
by the Conservatives, who held that this signal example of 
political generosity on the part of the adherents of the 
government, in the face of extreme provocation to an op- 
posite course, was satisfactory proof that "pernicious par- 
tisanism" had not yet taken root in Great Britain. The 
Liberals, on the other hand, more than hinted that it was 
a recognition of the power of one radical member who 



1 8 A Looker On in London 

had snatched this much of victory from the jaws of de- 
feat. Furthermore, they stated boldly that, while the Con- 
servatives had come into power with an unprecedented 
majority, the vote which really turned the tide in the elec- 
tions was so small that they perceived the wisdom of rea- 
sonable conciliation. 

Long lines of people, men and women of all classes and 
conditions, filled the corridors leading to the House of 
Commons. These were kept in order by the omnipresent 
policemen whose demeanor might be described as polite 
but firm. There was almost as much scrambling and el- 
bowing as might be witnessed on similar occasions at 
home, but it was immensely good-natured. With all our 
protestations of equality and with the familiarity that 
seems bred of democracy, the personality, blunt, downright 
and of the sledge-hammer order, which is permitted upon 
the floor of the House of Commons, is something to which 
the visiting American can never become quite accustomed. 
It is so at variance with the ordinary reserve and self- 
control of the Englishman, and especially of the English- 
man in office, that the remarks and comments which oc- 
casionally interrupt a member in the midst of a speech 
have something the effect of audible and flippant irrever- 
ence during a church service. I had observed this in an 
Australian parliament, where it had been introduced, no 
doubt, as a mark of reverence for "home" and its institu- 
tions, although, with the socialistic tendencies that are fast 
growing in that remote region, reverence for anything that 
savors of conservatism cannot long survive. This spirit 
was very apparent when Mr. Chamberlain, who, having 
renounced the principles and professions of many years, 
entered and seated himself by Mr. Balfour in a way that 
but a few short months before would have recalled the lion 
and the lamb of prophesied millennium. This prompted 
one of the most unruly of the Irish contingent to shout 



The Opening of Parliament 19 

"Judas." The epithet, fortunately, was drowned by the ap- 
plause of Mr. Chamberlain's new friends, who, happily 
for him, greatly outnumbered his former fellow-partisans. 
The taunt was accompanied by a few harmless, hostile 
demonstrations from other Irish and Radical members, 
and so passed without attracting much attention. 

The business was soon dispatched; Mr. Gully, by the 
forbearance of his enemies, was re-elected, and the House 
adjourned. 

My host had invited another guest, Emily Crawford, 
one of the most distinguished women journalists in Eng- 
land, for many years the staff correspondent of the Lon- 
don Daily Nezvs in Paris, whose letters after the death 
of President Carnot and the political crisis that followed 
made her widely known throughout the United States. 
After the session we were invited to tea on the Terrace, 
where other of the newly-elected members were entertain- 
ing their friends — a series of brilliant parties. 

The Thames rushed by, steamers and many small craft 
plying to and fro, the noble building, a mass of glorious 
architecture, casting its shadow across the tessellated 
pavement. The clock, historic Big Ben, struck three, the 
chimes of Westminster responded — the work of the ses- 
sion was done and over in one brief hour. 

With all deference to lords and commons, to bishops 
and peeresses, Emily Crawford, to me, was the most in- 
teresting personage there. She was of middle age, stout 
and rather short of stature, with blue eyes and a de- 
cidedly pleasing countenance full of varying expression 
and of great intelligence. She was plainly dressed in 
a black gown, and the one hand from which she re- 
moved the glove was small and white, with delicately 
tapered fingers. We sat upon an elevated seat, our host 
pouring the tea and attentively serving us with toasted 
currant buns and thin bread and butter. Many of the 



20 A Looker On in London 

members were brought up and introduced to the distin- 
guished journalist, and she met them upon their own 
ground, but with no self assertion or controversy. Her 
talk was most delightful. Every incident, every important 
change of policy through successive administrations for 
more than twenty years, were readily recalled, and she 
substantiated her statements with names, dates, figures, 
that were a little bewildering to those not so well informed 
as herself. She had a deep musical voice, finely modulated, 
and a manner somewhat indifferent and taciturn. She at- 
tributed the defeat of the Liberals to the too numerous and 
too diverse measures which they had proposed, and which 
had failed only because of opposition in the House of 
Lords. She said that the British mind operated slowly, 
and that it demanded time for reflection and the assimila- 
tion of new ideas. The government, society itself, was a 
succession of growths, and one could not be violently 
displaced without permanently uprooting others. She 
thought, too, that the introduction of a temperance ques- 
tion in the guise of a local option measure had had its 
weight, especially among manufacturers or dealers in 
spirits and others whose selfish interests were involved. In 
the House of Peers she frankly preferred the hereditary 
nobleman to the new creation who "smelled of paint ;" and 
she made some caustic comments on the aspiring descend- 
ants of "self-made" capitalists who were frequently the 
degenerate successors of men who had possessed excellent 
qualities. She was very much interested in the progress 
of civil service rule in the United States and, very oddly, 
perceived in the importation of Italian laborers the solu- 
tion of the drink question. Laborers of other nationality, 
she thought, might require alcoholic stimulants as a 
specific against the malaria of newly-settled regions; the 
Italians were a temperate race, they had been acclimated 
against ague and fever, and, having literally stored up a 



The Opening of Parliament 21 

supply of caloric, were not in need of artificial stimu- 
lants. If not tenable, her views were at any rate 
original, and, as she stated them, extremely interest- 
ing. She spoke of journalism as a profession— the de- 
mand that it made upon the brains and energy, requiring 
skill, intelligence, knowledge and literary ability, only to 
record the events of the passing hour, a record speedily 
forgotten. Its tendency, she thought, was to develop a 
certain automatic facility for writing, but it secured for 
those who followed the profession none of the substantial 
rewards of literature. Mrs. Crawford was recognized by 
the Conservative members, who watched her curiously. 
One group— a tall young man with a curling blonde 
mustache, who had been defeated three years before and 
now returned, and a party of pretty women in French 
gowns,— were especially attentive while she talked, ser- 
enely unconscious of their observation. 

Bits of amusing conversation that one could not help 
overhearing went on all about us. One man re- 
marked : 

"I shall have to put up my carriage and pair at auction 
to defray the expense of my canvass." 

"What did it cost you?" asked his sympathizing friend. 
"Fifty pounds a day, and not a penny less," he replied 
in a discouraged tone. 

I thought of our campaign funds, which so offended 
the moral sense of the good people of England, and 
perceived that here, indeed, was a distinction with a 
difference. 

The Liberals were good-naturedly and somewhat rue- 
fully condoling with each other; one characterized the 
opening of the session as "tame— very tame;" another 
humorously termed it "the slaughter of the innocents;" 
while still another remarked that "it made him sad to miss 
so many of the old familiar faces." On returning home 



22 A Looker On in London 

we passed a great funeral, a member of the volunteers 
followed by a long procession of grey uniformed militia, 
the coffin carried upon a caisson and quite buried under 
flowers. 



CHAPTER III 

LORD LEIGHTON 

(1895) 

Shortly after the opening of Parliament I received a 
letter from Sir Frederick, afterwards Lord Leighton, in- 
viting me to take tea with him at Arab House in Holland 
Park road. He had just returned from the south of 
France where he had spent several months, resting and 
vainly hoping to recuperate his failing health. 

The annual dinner of the Royal Academy, at which he 
had always presided since his election as President, had 
been omitted that year, as there was none willing to serve 
as chairman in his absence. He was then in London, 
which was practically deserted at the end of the season, on 
his way to Bath to try the efficacy of the waters. I had 
a letter of introduction from Harriet Hosmer, a dear 
friend whom he had known in his student days in Rome, 
and it was to this that I was indebted for the visit, which 
was a memorable one. 

Although his illness was fatal — a fact not realized at 
that time by even his closest friends — there was nothing 
in his appearance or his manner to indicate that he was 
not in robust health. He impressed me as a man light- 
hearted and full of gaiety, charmingly at ease and with 
the faculty of placing his guests at ease. He was care- 
fully dressed, his velvet coat and scarlet neckerchief be- 
ing strikingly becoming to his picturesque figure. His 
hair and beard were of silvery whiteness, his fine eyes 

33 



24 A Looker On in London 

were undimmed, and his regular features were hardly less 
classical than those which he had loved to paint. 

The time for my visit had been previously arranged, so 
that I was shown into the drawing room on the ground- 
floor, where he speedily joined me, extending his hand and 
greeting me cordially as the representative of his old 
friend. There was no other visitor present, so I had the 
great privilege of monopolizing his brilliant conversation. 
He first showed me over the house, painstakingly pointing 
out everything that he thought might prove of interest, all 
of which I recall with a sensation of regret, for even at 
that time he suffered continually. As is usual with most 
English houses, the drawing-room, dining-room and 
studio were in the rear, looking out into a deep, shady gar- 
den, in which he took great pride. There was a terrace and 
a fine lawn, with tall, branching trees, many of which, he 
told me, he had planted with his own hands. 

"My American visitors," he said, "are always much sur- 
prised to find such a garden as this in the heart of Lon- 
don." 

And well they might have been ; the bare brick wall in 
front gave no hint of the waving boughs and velvet sward 
which it effectually concealed. 

In the drawing-room he pointed out two admirable ex- 
amples of Corot's work, one full of misty foliage and cool, 
soft shadows, with the peculiar silvery greys in which the 
great French artist so excelled. They hung side by side, 
and the English master had evidently a strong affection 
for both the artist and the two cherished examples of his 
work. From the drawing-room he led the way into what 
resembled a Moorish court; the walls were of blue and 
white tiles, every one of which had been selected by the 
painter — a collection which, he told me, he was years in 
completing; there was a dripping fountain playing in a 
basin of black marble, and carved Moorish grilles before 



Lord Leighton 25 

the windows by which the light could be excluded, with 
cushioned divans beneath them ; it was like a bit of Alad- 
din's palace, which some obliging genius might have set 
down in London and have forgotten. 

"When this was made," Lord Leighton explained, "I 
sent the builder to Spain to study Moorish designs and I 
impressed upon his mind that it was not intended for any 
especial purpose, but simply to be beautiful. 

And its purpose, from the inlaid floor to the fret-work 
of the arched ceiling and the gilded decorations of the 
door-way, had been faithfully carried out. 

On the main staircase above the landing was an un- 
finished portrait of Edmund Burke by Sir Joshua Rey- 
nolds. 

"There," said Lord Leighton, "that is most interesting, 
because it shows how Sir Joshua worked out his ideas. 
\ou see, the canvas is quite bare in places." 

And this was true of the face, of which the outlines only 
had been drawn, but these were so bold and strong that 
the effect was strikingly life-like. 

On the second floor — the first floor in English parlance 
— he conducted me to a small gallery, well lighted, in 
which hung a fine collection of pictures, every one a mas- 
ter-piece. 

"These," he explained, "were painted for this little gal- 
lery and given me by my friends — this was from Millais, 
that from Alma Tadema— this from Burne Jones"— the 
latter a stately, strutting pea-cock — all admirable ex- 
amples of the work of each donor. 

From the gallery we crossed the broad corridor to the 
studio — one with roof and walls of glass, its French win- 
dows opening upon a veranda. "There is my winter 
studio," Lord Leighton explained, "so that I may secure 
all the light possible from our dull skies." 

In this delightful winter studio was a bewildering array 



26 A Looker On in London 

of treasures, bronzes, marbles, rich fabrics and hangings, 
furniture of carved oak black as ebony, and plaques from 
India, China and Japan. 

In the summer studio, which, unlike the other, looked 
down into the tree-tops, an unfinished picture stood upon 
the easel, the paint still wet, upon which Lord Leigh- 
ton had been at work that morning. It was this unfinished 
picture which, a few months later, was placed at the head 
of his coffin in the drawing-room of Arab House. 

"I did this to-day," he said presently, showing me the 
beautiful face of a young girl done in sepia upon the fly 
leaf of a magnificently bound book. 

"It is a gift from the Princess of Wales to a friend, and 
she asked me to do it for her." 

He spoke very affectionately and admiringly of the 
Princess, who was a warm personal friend, and with a 
great deal of pride pointed out a chair whose carved frame 
and leather cushion had been the work of her own hands. 

"And now shall I give you some tea?" he asked, pour- 
ing it, with much grace, at a little table which had been 
daintily spread. The tea being dispensed, we sat down for 
a chat, which was not the least delightful part of the visit. 
The conversation then turned upon America and Ameri- 
cans, the munificence of its rich people who collected 
works of art and presented them to public galleries. He 
recalled with admiration the fact that the architect of the 
Chicago Public Library had been sent to Europe, with 
what he called "extraordinary liberality," to study the best 
models ; he could recall but one parallel — the re-modelling 
and re-building of Paris under Napoleon III, which, how- 
ever, had been the work of an Emperor with the wealth of 
an Empire at his disposal. He thought that the liberality 
displayed by Chicago was much more common in the 
United States than in England. 

I had visited the galleries, museums and libraries in and 



Lord Leighton 27 

about London and could hardly agree with him, and said 
that, from my superficial observation, it seemed to me that 
England was gathering to itself things of value, both in 
art and in the field of scientific study and research, from 
all the countries of the earth. He still insisted that this 
was true of the United States in a far greater degree than 
of England. People in his own country had felt the stress 
of hard times, and many wealthy and even noble families, 
unable to collect their rents, had been forced to sell pic- 
tures, manuscripts and their valuables, many of which had 
gone to America and were a great loss to his own coun- 
try. 

He seemed reluctant to speak of his failing health, but 
said: 

"For the first time in sixteen years I was unable to pre- 
side at the annual dinner of the Royal Academy. I have 
been forced to decline all invitations and could see but 
few visitors, and these only in the most informal way." 

He gave me two interesting reminiscences : one his first 
recollection of Harriet Hosmer and the other concerning 
Lady Butler's "Roll Call. ,, 

"Miss Hosmer," he said, "I first met in Rome. She 
was studying with Gibson, who took the greatest interest 
in his pupil. She was then a young girl, full of spirit and 
intelligence. It was at that time an unusual thing for a 
young woman to devote herself to the serious study of 
sculpture, but she had talent, immense energy and the fac- 
ulty of making friends." 

Of Lady Butler's "Roll Call" he explained that all work 
sent to the hanging committee must be submitted anony- 
mously. 

"Frequently," he said, "the artists are the sons and 
daughters or relatives of the committee, and such a course 
must be pursued that decisions may be made absolutely 
without bias. When the 'Roll Call' was presented there 



28 A Looker On in London 

was the greatest excitement, and it was greeted with a 
burst of applause. The technique was entirely unfamiliar, 
nor was there in the picture anything that gave the slight- 
est clue to the painter's identity. Up to that time Lady 
Butler, who was then Miss Thompson, had lived in com- 
parative retirement and was not well known outside her 
own circle of friends and acquaintances. The picture 
made a wonderful furore at the exhibition that year; a 
railing had to be placed in front of it, and two policemen 
were required in constant attendance to prevent the 
crowds from halting too long as they passed in line be- 
fore it." 

The conversation then turned upon the work of modern 
French painters, whose technique he praised warmly, 
qualifying his opinion, however, with the statement that 
within the last five years there had been a marked retro- 
gression in France. He spoke in terms of highest commen- 
dation of the more recent work of Mrs. Alma Tadema and 
her daughter and other women painters, but gave the fore- 
most place to Henrietta Raeburn, whom he considered one 
of the greatest of English figure painters and whose 
"Apollo and Daphne," in both coloring and drawing, he 
pronounced one of the best pictures in the Academy that 
year. He praised the zeal and industry of women painters 
in general, but thought their limitation lay in their lack 
of marked creative power, although he admitted that there 
had been some notable exceptions to the rule. He ques- 
tioned the genius of one or two who had been renowned 
throughout the world, and thought that their fame was 
the result of their conspicuousness, in that they had es- 
sayed a line of study to which women rarely devoted 
themselves. He would not admit that men owed anything 
to the heredity of unhampered opportunity, of freedom 
from the trammels of convention and prejudice in the past, 
or to the monopoly of technical training from which 



Lord Leighton 29 

women until recently had been absolutely cut off. He 
politely concurred in the belief, which I could not refrain 
from stating, that a just estimate of their genius would 
hardly be possible for at least half a century; that they 
had hardly grown accustomed to their freedom, and were 
only beginning to settle down to systematic and serious 
work, as men were accustomed to work. He reminded me, 
however, that they had had a fair field in music and that 
there had been no great women composers, and laughed 
good-humoredly when I reminded him that where the en- 
dowments of a son or daughter were equal, as in the case 
of Mozart and his sister, of Mendelssohn and his sister, 
all the advantages were given the son, who did not scruple 
to claim whatever was of value in his sister's composi- 
tions. 

He acknowledged, finally, that women had not had equal 
opportunity with men to study from the nude in London, a 
privilege that they did enjoy freely in Paris, which he pro- 
nounced emphatically the foundation of all excellence in 
drawing. 

When the subject was finally dropped, he suggested 
many things that I should see, the Turner collection in 
the National Gallery, a number of private collections, and 
Henrietta Raeburn's pictures, which were then on exhibi- 
tion in Regent street. He wanted to know how much I 
had seen of England, and questioned me closely, urging 
me to visit Cornwall, for which he had a strong affection, 
and above all to visit Land's End. He showed me a 
number of studies which he had made of that wild, pic- 
turesque coast, and which were afterwards shown at one 
of the autumn exhibitions. 

He then returned to the discussion of American affairs, 
and the strong natural tie that existed between Americans 
and the English. He expressed a fear that, in the continual 
intermixture of Americans with other races in the United 



30 A Looker On in London 

States, the old Anglo-Saxon traits would be corrupted or 
lost; he also commented with admiration on our written 
constitution whose inflexibility he did not inveigh against, 
as Englishmen frequently do, but said that it was a re- 
markable summary of principles and that it had been a 
safe guide for the nation ever since its adoption. In their 
own lack of just such a document he thought that the time 
might come when its need would be seriously felt, and 
gave the crisis through which the country had just passed, 
and which he considered decidedly serious, as a proof of 
this possibility. 

"Fortunately," he said, "there had been no resistance to 
authority ; but the situation was sufficiently grave, and a 
little mischievous agitation might easily have brought 
about a dangerous contest." 

Finally, when I rose to go, I expressed my gratification 
that the rumors of his illness had been exaggerated. 

"I am very ill," he said, his face clouding for an in- 
stant, "I know my own critical condition perfectly ; I have 
to exercise constant care and avoid all unnecessary exer- 
tion. I cannot raise my hand to my head ; I shall never 
recover." 

There was perfect calmness and a certain patient 
resignation in the manner in which he made this state- 
ment, an acceptance of fate that was most impressive. 
He asked me repeatedly in what way he could be of 
service to me, and as there was no favor which I felt 
justified in asking at that time, he said that he would keep 
me in mind when he returned in November. From many 
men this would have been, probably, a mere politeness, 
but I had learned that from people of his nationality such 
promises were fulfilled to the letter. The following morn- 
ing there came a charming note, "written," he explained, 
"on the edge of my portmanteau," on the eve of his de- 
parture for Bath. He enclosed a letter to Alma Tadema, 



Lord Leighton 31 

whom he said I would find a charming man, and spoke 
again with admiration of his wife and daughter. 

Lord Leighton returned to London a few months later, 
having received very little benefit from the waters at Bath. 
Among the award of New Year's honors he was raised to 
the peerage, but lived only a few weeks after receiving 
this distinction. He was born at Scarborough December 
3, 1830, and at the time of his death was still in the prime 
of life. He was a man of wonderful attainments and 
varied genius, a sculptor as well as a painter; he spoke 
almost every modern European language and was known 
in every European capital. His social qualities were of 
the highest order, and his tact and courtesy — the expres- 
sion of a thoroughly kindly nature — were unfailing. His 
own brilliant success made him only the more sympathetic 
and helpful to those less distinguished than himself; he 
was a man with a multitude of friends and he had filled 
the high office of President of the Royal Academy, for 
which he had every qualification, with signal ability. His 
love for the Academy knew no bounds ; he felt an intense 
pride in it and spared no effort to promote its influence, 
to increase its usefulness, and to make its approval an in- 
centive, not only to English artists, but to foreign artists 
of every nationality, who had been most generously ad- 
mitted to its privileges. 

The malady, angina pectoris, from which Lord Leigh- 
ton had suffered so long, finally became most acute. Dur- 
ing the last week of his life he endured the keenest 
anguish with heroic patience, opiates failing to relieve his 
sufferings; he welcomed the end as a release and passed 
quietly away on the morning of January 25, 1896. The 
funeral was held on Monday, February 8, and in its solem- 
nity and magnificence was a fitting tribute to his exalted 
position. The body, after the preparation for burial, re- 
posed in the drawing-room of his house, and was then pri- 



32 A Looker On in London 

vately removed to the central hall of the Academy. There 
it lay in state under the dome until the hour for the 
funeral, which was held in St. Paul's. During the week 
thousands called at Arab House, registering their names, 
in the visitors' book, and they were the names of men and 
women eminent in art and letters and politics, many of 
whom had been his warm personal friends. 

At the Academy, the coffin, which was of polished oak 
covered with a pall of crimson velvet, rested upon a bier 
draped in deep purple; upon the lid of the coffin was 
placed a palm branch with the artist's palette set with the 
colors, just as he had used it a fortnight before, with the 
brushes and maulstick. At the foot of the bier, upon a 
cushion of crimson velvet, were arranged the medals and 
orders that had been conferred upon him by foreign gov- 
ernments, while a bronze portrait bust stood upon its ped- 
estal at the head of the catafalque, around the neck the 
gold chain and medal given the President of the Academy 
by George III, and worn by his successors. Flowers were 
heaped about the bier, almost concealing it — sheaves of 
lilies and roses, masses of violets, with ferns and palm 
branches. There were countless wreaths — from the Queen 
and Royal Family, from Academicians, painters and sculp- 
tors, from nobles and commons, and from his friends, 
great and humble, in many walks of life. The Queen sent 
a wreath of laurel and immortelles tied with satin rib- 
bons, that bore a card upon which she had written : 

"A mark of regard from Victoria R. I." 

That of the Empress Frederick also bore an autograph 
inscription: ''From Victoria, Empress Frederick," and 
one which had been sent by the Prince and Princess of 
Wales was of ferns with lilies of the valley and other 
fragrant white flowers ; upon the card attached to this me- 
mento she had written these lines : 



Lord Leighton 33 

•' Life's race well run 
Life's work well done 
Life's crown well won 
Now comes rest." 

A wreath of laurel tied with gold ribbons was from the 
Royal Academy as a body, and similar offerings were sent 
from other institutions throughout Great Britain. 

On Monday morning as the body was conveyed to St. 
Paul's the side-walks along the route of the procession 
were crowded with spectators, many of the shops having 
their shutters partially closed, while the blinds of private 
residences were drawn and signs of mourning were ex- 
hibited. 

As the bell of St. Paul's tolls only upon the death of a 
member of the Royal Family, it was silent, but as the cor- 
tege passed along the Strand, knells were rung from the 
bells of St. Martin-in-the-Fields and St. Clement Dane's. 

Sir W. Wilkin, the Lord Mayor, arrived a little after 
twelve o'clock, accompanied by the aldermen and the 
London County Council. As the coffin was removed from 
the hearse and borne into the cathedral, the guard, drawn 
up in line, presented arms. The Dean and the Archdeacon 
advanced from the chancel to meet the procession as the 
west doors were thrown open, the Lord Mayor and his 
suite being assigned seats in the choir. It had been ar- 
ranged that the burial should take place in the crypt, and 
a stone had been removed from the pavement that the cof- 
fin might be lowered to its resting place below. As it was 
placed in position the choir chanted "I am the Resurrec- 
tion and the Life ;" "Lord, Thou Hast Been our Refuge," 
was also chanted, and the proper lesson was read by the 
Dean. This was followed by Brahm's anthem, "Blessed 
are they that mourn, for they shall have comfort," the 
Bishop of Stepney read the passage: "Man that is born 
of woman hath but a short time to live, and is full of 



34 



A Looker On in London 



misery ;" after which earth from the Mount of Olives near 
the Garden of Gethsemane was cast into the grave. 

The two sisters of Lord Leighton, with his friend Mr. 
Val Prinsep, then approached the grave to look upon the 
place to which the body was to be committed for its final 
repose. As they turned away a brilliant burst of sun- 
shine streamed through the windows, the morning having 
been dull and cloudy, and the choir broke forth with thril- 
ling effect: 

"I heard a voice from Heaven saying unto me 'Write ;' 
From henceforth blessed are the dead who die in the 
Lord." 

At the conclusion of the service, as the notes of the 
Dead March in Saul pealed through the cathedral, Sir 
John Millais, shortly afterward chosen Lord Leighton's 
successor as President of the Academy and within the 
year to repose beside him, placed upon the coffin the 
wreath of the Royal Academy, while Count Hatzfeld, rep- 
resenting the Emperor of Germany, stepped forward and 
laid the Imperial offering beside it. The coffin was then 
lowered into the crypt, the grave itself being heaped and 
covered with wreaths. 

Near at hand were the ashes of Sir Joshua Reynolds, of 
Turner, Opie, Benjamin West, Landseer and others who 
had preceded him. 

A great artist, a courtier, man of letters, eminent in all, 
Lord Leighton was deeply and sincerely mourned. He 
possessed in a rare degree the faculty of making friends, 
and no one envied him the many and great honors which 
had been bestowed upon him throughout his brilliant 
career. 



CHAPTER IV 

AFTER THE SEASON AND LONDON WEATHER 

From a social point of view the space of one short week 
produces a remarkable change in London. Some millions 
of its population remain, but society disbands and it is 
customary to say that everybody has left town. By the 
first of August those who thronged the drawing-rooms of 
the West End have scattered, betaking themselves to Scot- 
land, or Norway, or Switzerland ; and the thoroughfares 
are left to the tourist and the common people who are un- 
able to migrate. Houses in Park Lane and Belgravia have 
the blinds drawn, and in fashionable "Mansions," maids 
"on board wages" engage in uninterrupted flirtation with 
the high official who stands at the entrance, like a liveried 
species of Peri. The club windows along Piccadilly and 
Pall Mall are also in eclipse, for it appears that only an in- 
considerable number of these clubs are perennial. Many 
are closed during the shooting season until autumn, that 
they may be "turned out and done over," which innocent 
phrase is English for the deadliest sort of house-cleaning 
—scrubbing and scouring, combined with painting and 
decorating— that drags along interminably. 

In spite of the permanent millions who stay in town, the 
crowds in the streets are noticeably diminished ; there are 
fewer passengers in the omnibuses ; the hansom driver has 
many less fares than were his portion when the season 
was in full swing; and there is a falling off in the traffic 
of the under-ground railway, which is left largely, at least 
during the middle of the day, to its own black smoke and 

35 



36 A Looker On in London 

stifling gas. Still, to the visitor seeing London for the 
first time, the panorama that unrolls itself along Piccadilly 
is a never-failing delight. There are few smart turn-outs, 
with the incomparable groom and coachman, with pretty 
women in gowns that speak eloquently of Felix and bon- 
nets that prdclaim themselves the handiwork of Pingat; 
but, irreverent though it may be to compare them, there 
are delightful costermonger c^rts drawn by tiny, mouse- 
colored donkeys, the carts, or barrows, as they are called, 
being heaped with flowers and greenery from Covent 
Garden. Here and there stately natives of India mingle 
with the passing throng, in robes of dazzling white, with 
towering turbans of scarlet silk ; the pupil of Christ's Hos- 
pital — the famous Blue Coat school, soon, alas! to be re- 
moved from London — in his apprentice dress of the time 
of Edward VI, adds a pleasing touch to the picture: he 
trots along, ruddy, clean and bare-headed, his coat of 
dark blue fluttering about his heels, the long, full, pleated 
skirt attached to a tight fitting body, with a leather strap 
about the waist and white cambric bands at the throat, 
the costume completed by brilliant orange stockings and 
buckled shoes. 

There are other interesting lads — tiny chaps wearing 
the Oxford cap and the neatest of jackets and trousers, 
others from Eton and Harrow arrayed with equal care 
and distinguished by their broad collars and top hats; 
scarlet-coated detachments from the Duke of York's 
school rival a procession from a girl's school, the daugh- 
ters of soldiers, uniformed in scarlet dresses, blue jackets 
and sailor hats, who make quite a streak of color in the 
shady street. 

The autumn comes on very rapidly in England. If the 
season has been dry, the leaves begin to fall by the middle 
of September ; if it is wet, the foliage remains unchanged 
somewhat longer, but the floods that descend from the low, 



After the Season and London Weather 37 

dull clouds make one long for frost, instead. The first fogs 
usually appear in September, and the preliminary phenom- 
enon is described as "a meadow mist." The name, which 
rather pleases the fancy and brings to mind the soft 
haze of a summer morning, is in reality an ill-smelling 
mixture of smoke and vapor, changing from yellow to 
deep brown and greenish grey, through which the sun ap- 
pears like a brazen ball. As winter approaches the fogs 
increase — if it is to be a foggy season — which does not al- 
ways happen, and as more fuel is consumed and thicker 
and blacker smoke ascends from millions of chimneys, it 
changes its complexion and becomes thick darkness. 
Night appears to be pressing close against the window- 
panes at noon-day ; lamps are lighted upon passing cabs, 
in houses, in the shops and along the streets. Traffic is 
not interrupted, although daylight is completely extin- 
guished — so long as the pall remains above the house- 
tops. When it descends to the surface of the ground, the 
discreet remain indoors; belated pedestrians are con- 
ducted home by link-boys, like fine ladies and gentlemen in 
the days of the Stuarts; cabmen lead their horses, and 
vehicles moving at a snail's pace frequently come to grief; 
the driver of the tram-car is often unable to see his horses, 
and the conductor is hardly able to distinguish the hand 
that passes the fare. It is estimated that a black fog of 
this description costs many thousands of pounds per day 
for additional gas, which can do little more than make 
darkness visible; and there is an immediate increase in 
the death-rate, especially among people predisposed to 
pulmonary disease. It is difficult to understand how the 
enormous business of London could be carried on in the 
face of such an apparently insurmountable difficulty, and 
there is little doubt that had Americans to contend with 
such conditions, some means of lessening the difficulty 
would have been found and the breathless pall have been 



38 



A Looker On in London 



rendered at least opaque. The fog itself can never be en- 
tirely obliterated, but it might be made at least trans- 
lucent with a little ingenuity, which, doubtless, will be ac- 
complished when fuel gas or electricity comes into gen- 
eral use and the English chimney can be dispensed with. 
This is an architectural adjunct which the British builder 
has never learned how to construct. One may see upon 
the inside walls of buildings that are being dismantled, 
shallow, serpentine channels; these are flues. Why they 
are made serpentine one is puzzled to know. There is 
hardly space for the passage of smoke, so that in a short 
time the chimney becomes foul and clogged, and one is 
roused at daybreak by an uproar that wakes him from his 
sleep and makes him wonder if the house is tumbling 
about his ears. He learns that it is only the sweep on one 
of his quarterly visitations which the law requires, which, 
if omitted, renders the householder liable to a fine, 
and which threatens daily and hourly conflagration. 
There are few or no London chimneys that do not smoke 
in some prevailing wind. I had a variety — one from 
which nothing could be expected, as a matter of course 
when the wind was in the south-west ; another that sulked 
when the wind was in the north, at which seasons the 
room had to be vacated until the fire could be extin- 
guished ; still others had to be placated by opening a win- 
dow or leaving a door ajar. When it was stated that 
American chimneys rarely or never smoked, and that a 
chimney-sweep was a person whom few Americans had 
ever seen and whose services were not required in the 
United States, the proud boast was received with marked 
incredulity by even the most polite. With the smoke, the 
unheated or insufficiently heated houses are uncomfortable 
to Americans, who, it must be acknowledged, go to the 
other extreme and bake themselves in the super-heated 
temperature which they prefer. It is true that the mercury 



After the Season and London Weather 39 

in London rarely reaches zero, but the cold of the damp 
autumn and winter is penetrating and paralyzing. The 
lodger is taxed six pence for each scuttle of coal, although 
bought in bulk it is much cheaper ; but anyone who would 
brave the wrath of the land-lady by purchasing his own 
supply would be considered a being of consummate mean- 
ness. Bed rooms and corridors are rarely heated, and a 
kerosene lamp or a gas jet is considered sufficient to raise 
the temperature of a bath-room to a necessary and com- 
fortable degree. 

But whatever the inconveniences and uncomfortable- 
ness of the English winter may be, there is measureless 
compensation in the loveliness of the spring and summer. 
By the latter part of April the meadows are like velvet, 
and primroses are thick and yellow in the copses. The 
sky lark returns, and later the nightingale is heard in the 
depths of the wood. The hedge-rows are white with blos- 
som, and gardens are purple with the lilacs and aflame 
with the laburnum; and London street-corners are fra- 
grant with mounds of velvety wall-flowers. 

By the first of July the heated term makes itself felt — 
not the glaring, torrid heat with winds like the simoon — 
but humid, stifling weather, during which the sky is oc- 
casionally veiled in pale grey clouds. For some occult 
reason the temperature at 85 degrees is much more op- 
pressive, even to Americans who are inured to the tropics, 
than a greater degree of heat in the United States. And 
if the sojourning American feels discomfort, the native 
Londoner perspires, and gasps, and even dies from sun- 
stroke, or what he calls "heat apoplexy." He resorts to 
every means of relief of which he can avail himself, ex- 
cept the use of ice. One may perceive, however, that 
prejudice even in this last extreme is giving way. Ameri- 
can "ice-cream soda" is now offered in various fashionable 
, restaurants in Regent street and elsewhere, and, with the 



4-o A Looker On in London 

throngs of American tourists that frequent them, partak- 
ing of the familiar refreshment of their native land, in- 
creasing numbers of English may be seen also consuming 
the cooling beverage with somewhat disapproving satis- 
faction. Most significant of all — I saw a lad, one blazing 
August morning, hauling a block of ice in a hand-cart 
down Sloane street. It was remarkable to see the ice in 
the first place, and there was an added touch of the unique 
in the fact that upon the crystal tube had been fastened, 
in some manner, a neat placard bearing the name and ad- 
dress of the purchaser. This was a precaution which had 
been taken to secure its safe delivery to the proper owner, 
as the average Englishman would not receive under his 
roof that which we consider one of the necessaries of life 
and to which he attributes the whole of our national dys- 
pepsia. 

While recent shipments of California fruit have sold 
readily enough in the London market, it is doubtful if it 
will ever attain very high favor; it is thought that its 
flavor has been sacrificed to size, and that it is hardly equal 
to the native fruit which appeals less pleasingly to the 
eye. The English fruit crop is comparatively small, but 
that which is produced cannot be surpassed for delicate 
and exquisite flavor. English and Scotch strawberries 
are beyond compare, so large that one berry will furnish 
several mouthfuls, sweet as honey and almost seedless. 
The goose-berry, which we scarcely respect, is luscious 
and delicious, as big as plums and almost as sweet as the 
strawberry. 

The English are much too sensible to cook fruit, except 
that which is buried in the yawning caverns of the tart ; 
the most of it comes to the table in the natural state, in 
plates prettily decorated with a border of leaves. .Fruit 
constitutes what is technically called the dessert — a term 
which we use indiscriminately — as distinguished from the 



After the Season and London Weather 41 

"sweets" that precede it — the starchy blanc mange, jelly 
stiffened with Irish moss, the solid and uncompromising 
pudding, and the tart aforesaid. English apples, except a 
few choice and costly varieties are altogether contempti- 
ble in appearance, but are very deceiving. They are like 
plain girls of whom it is said, "they are not pretty, but 
they are good." The smallest, knottiest and most unprom- 
ising may be found to possess qualities that many of our 
larger and more richly colored varieties wholly lack, and 
they are as fragrant as sweet-briar. 

In 1895 an unprecedented crop was produced; the 
boughs bent and broke under the weight of fruit and the 
ground was thickly strewn with it, but prices were so low 
that the farmer could make nothing by sending it to mar- 
ket. Hundreds of bushels went to waste, for cider mak- 
ing is now almost an unknown industry, so rare are the 
seasons in which it is practicable. 

English plums cannot be surpassed; I saw a tree 
weighted down with what, from a fleeting glimpse through 
a railway carriage window, appeared to be crimson pears. 
They were plums with a pinkish crimson skin, a rich yel- 
low pulp within, sweet and finely flavored. English pears, 
especially those grown upon espaliers, are fully equal to 
our own best varieties. Peaches and grapes which ripen 
only under glass are beautiful in form and color, but they 
are disappointing, the peaches especially being somewhat 
insipid. English vegetables are exceptionally good, let- 
tuce and celery being crisp and with a nutty sweetness. 
As to the food in general, it is all good, but there is a 
sameness, even in its very excellence, of which one tires. 
There are few valid grounds for complaint; one would 
like once in a while to find fault with heavy rolls or sour 
bread ; tough steak, tough chops and stringy beef are also 
apparently unknown ; one may find some relief in criticis- 
ing the potatoes which are seldom thoroughly cooked and 



42 A Looker On in London 

denouncing the practice of stewing mint with peas — a 
combination that is thoroughly distasteful to the untrained 
palate. The soup is above reproach ; so is the fish with its 
inevitable egg sauce; the fowl with its attendant bread 
sauce, its gizzard neatly tucked under one wing and the 
liver under the other, throwing a flood of light on that 
unintelligible phrase, "the liver wing/' which occurs in 
English novels. The English tart has been mentioned, 
but apparently it will not down ; it might be described as 
of the Tudor style of architecture, and is so big and strong 
and solid that it impresses the unfamiliar mind as having 
been built by government contract. 

It is a matter of some wonder to the American why the 
English should enjoy an apparent monopoly of two things 
that ought to be within reach of all people of limited 
means — sharp knives and thin bread and butter. Both 
are practically unknown on our side of the Atlantic, and 
I remember reading in Crabbe Robinson's Diary how he 
vainly endeavored to instruct his Spanish friend, Madame 
Mosquera, in the art of cutting bread and butter, when 
she was called upon to entertain Lord and Lady Holland 
who arrived unexpectedly in Corrunna with the English 
fleet. 

"That there might be no mistake," he writes, "I re- 
quested a loaf to be brought and I actually cut a couple of 
slices as thin as wafers, directing that a plate should be 
filled with such." Notwithstanding his efforts, he goes on 
to relate that "after the guests arrived a huge salver was 
set forth resembling in size the charger on which the 
head of John the Baptist is usually brought by Herod's 
step daughter. On this was a huge silver dish piled up 
with great pieces of bread and butter an inch thick, suf- 
ficient to feed Westminster school." 

English bread and butter, like English lawns, "must be 
regarded as hereditary and indigenous — the outgrowth of 



After the Season and London Weather 43 

national character and of centuries of custom. English 
tea, to those who like tea, is delicious, but a cup of good 
coffee is a thing almost unknown. Except the tiny cup of 
black coffee which is brought into the drawing-room after 
dinner, people rarely drink it. That which comes upon the 
breakfast table is usually of a pale purplish hue, of at- 
tenuated weakness and with a faint flavor of licorice ; for 
general unpalatableness it can be matched only in' our 
Western farm houses, where the art of cooking is still 
rudimentary. A vivacious American who lived in certain 
Kensington Mansions remarked, with an extravagance of 
speech that one need not accept literally : 

"I am so tired of joints, and boiled vegetables, and milky 
puddings that I would give my immortal soul for a good 
American dinner." 

She expressed herself strongly, but she had lived in 
London five years and was homesick. The aversion to 
our cookery is just as marked on the part of visiting Eng- 
lish, and there are very few who do not long for the 
roast beef of their own land: Sala — an epicure of pro- 
nounced fastidiousness — liked nothing but our oysters; 
and a young English girl who sojourned for a time in 
Kansas made this confession : "The food was absolutely 
uneatable, don't you know ; and it was served in a lot of 
little dishes like birds' bath-tubs." 

The fish in the London markets are unsurpassed, sal- 
mon, sole and plaice being the preferred varieties ; the oys- 
ters, even the much-vaunted native, are small and coppery. 

The ham anfi bacon deserve their reputation, and fresh 
eggs are good when they are what they profess to be. 
There was once a belief that the date stamped in blue let- 
ters on an egg related to the date upon which it was re- 
moved from the nest, but there have been occasions when 
there was self-evident reason to believe that the date had 
nothing to do with the actual age of the egg. It should 



44 A Looker On in London 

be said that the practice of breaking an egg into a cup and 
mixing it up, white and yolk, with salt and pepper, at 
table, is looked upon as a barbarous and sickening pro- 
ceeding, and Americans aspiring to shine in English so- 
ciety should take a careful course of instruction in eating 
their eggs according to established usage, before buying 
their steamer ticket. 



CHAPTER V 
carlyle's house 

(1895) 

The Centenary of Thomas Carlyle was appropriately 
celebrated, both in London and at Ecclefechan, December 
5th, a final disposition of the historic house in Cheyne Row 
having been made at that time. It had been purchased 
and turned over to the Trustees, Americans, as is usual 
in such cases, being liberal subscribers to the fund. It 
has always been somewhat difficult to comprehend the 
American worship of Carlyle. He had no great love for 
us, and seldom let an opportunity pass to show his dis- 
like. There are many well authenticated stories of his in- 
civility toward citizens of the republic, a goodly number 
of whom no doubt intruded unjustifiably upon his pri- 
vacy, but he was somewhat too impartial in his attitude, 
rebuffing those who brought to him letters that should 
have commanded his toleration, had he not been remarka- 
bly deficient in this quality. A little more than $8,000 
(£1,750) was paid for the house, a very plain, old-fash- 
ioned London residence of three stories, and rather dismal 
within and without. The numbers of the houses in Cheyne 
Row have been changed since the death of Carlyle, but, as 
is the London custom under such circumstances, instead of 
obliterating the historic "No. 5," a black line has been 
simply painted across the numeral. A medallion — a rather 
imperfect bas-relief — has been set in the wall, and any 
fine day during the tourist season a crowd of adoring 
Americans can be seen standing in front of it, paying silent 

45 



46 A Looker On in London 

homage to the memory of Carlyle, a very small proportion 
of whom, it probably would be found, really knew much 
of the man or of his works. At Ecclefechan, on 
the anniversary, the school children had had a holi- 
day; there was a gathering of the survivors of the 
Carlyle family and a wreath of immortelles was placed 
upon the grave by Mr. John Carlyle, a farmer now living 
at Langholm. It was supposed that the wreath was the 
gift of the Emperor of Germany, as a tribute to the biog- 
rapher of his great ancestor. In London a meeting was 
held in the Southwest Polytechnic Institute, Chelsea, at 
which Mr. John Morley presided. His speech, which was 
brilliant and able, was strikingly characteristic — an ex- 
ample of plain-speaking of especial value in an age prone 
to superlatives. He warmly commended the custom, 
rapidly growing in London, of distinguishing houses that 
had been occupied by great men and women with com- 
memorative tablets, such as had been placed upon the 
house where Carlyle once lived, and he pronounced Carlyle 
the foremost figure of his time in English literature, al- 
though he objected to the title that had been given him — 
"The Sage of Chelsea." "Sage" was a term which might 
be truthfully accorded Goethe, Emerson, or Wordsworth, 
but Carlyle, he said, was far too tempestuous a spirit to 
justify such a title. He might be considered rightfully 
enough a poet, an artist, a prophet or a preacher ; but not 
a sage. Contrasting him with Emerson and Wordsworth, 
the speaker said : "Far from him was their radiant sanity 
and their serene humanity." 

Touching upon Carlyle's domestic life, which had been 
so widely and so minutely criticized, he thought that 
point had been well dealt with by his distinguished friend, 
Frederick Harrison. He had put one aspect of it in ex- 
actly the right way when he had said that everything that 
had happened in the little house, so far as the past was 



Carlyle's House 47 

concerned, should be regarded as something that had hap- 
pened in Brobdingnag, and that we should resort to the 
scale of Brobdingnag in order to form a moral judgment. 
There was a giant living in it ; husband and wife railed at 
each other like a giant and giantess in a fairy tale; the 
cocks and hens, of which readers knew so much, were as 
large as ostriches and screamed and crowed with the 
power of a steam whistle, and the smallest creature in the 
bed was as big as a hedge-hog. Mr. Harrison could not 
have put the aspect of that case more truly ; but it was to 
be remembered that when we were estranged and alien- 
ated for the moment by these so-called revelations, we 
were dealing with a man and also with a woman who were 
not ordinary persons, who used very strenuous language, 
and experienced very profound emotions on what most 
people would have considered ordinary occasions calling 
for no display. That Carlyle was not a patient man and 
thought ill of his age and considered many of his con- 
temporaries — even eminent contemporaries — really poor 
creatures, were things that we all knew. He said that 
Carlyle did not resemble Emerson, and upon the particular 
points raised by the biographers it would no doubt 
have been better had he taken a piece of advice which 
Emerson gave, and for which all people would be better 
if they followed : that "one topic is peremptorily forbidden 
to all rational mortals ; namely, their distempers." 

Of his inconsistent attitude on the question of slavery 
Mr. Morley admitted that Carlyle was no doubt to some 
extent against human reason, and, he was sorry to say, 
in the most vital historic case of his generation, unfortu- 
nately against human freedom ; and these, no doubt, were 
serious flaws. But he counseled his hearers not to be 
overcome by them. It had been his good fortune to visit 
the illustrious man from time to time in his little home, 
and he saw around him those who had shared that priv- 



48 A Looker On in London 

ilege, who, he knew, would agree that no more courteous, 
cheery, considerate and encouraging friend and counselor 
could be desired for any young man coming to London 
and trying his literary fortune. He railed and cursed, de- 
nouncing many things that he, the speaker, still permitted 
himself to value. He systematically denounced logic, and 
particularly reviled political economy, which in that day 
had not yet been banished to a remote planet. He was 
very anxious always that one should on no account do 
two things, and often repeated it ; on no account should 
one write poetry and on no account aspire to any per- 
formance in the direction of what he called "London wit." 

In his conclusion the speaker thus referred to Carlyle's 
contempt for science: 

"Carlyle," he said, "flung himself across many of the 
elements that push society forward, but against science he 
was more resolutely antagonistic than almost any other 
force of his time. If he had said that natural science and 
the discoveries of natural science did not cover the whole 
field of human life, and that wisdom in those things is a 
very poor substitute for moral wisdom, of course nobody 
would have been able to gainsay him; but he was con- 
temptuous — almost maniacally contemptuous — of the 
speculations and work of that great man of science — so 
modest, so patient, so untiring, so serene, who from his 
quiet hill-top in Kent shook the whole world of European 
thought. Well as had been said by Mr. Arthur Balfour, 
it is now a matter of common knowledge, belief and con- 
viction — the common property of all educated men — to 
look upon the material world in which we live from an 
evolutionary standpoint — and perhaps the same stand- 
point was applicable to phenomena not material, but to 
some moral and social phenomena." 

In his summing up, however, notwithstanding these 
courageous criticisms, Mr. Morley delivered an eloquent 



Carlyle's House 49 

eulogy upon Carlyle, whom he believed to be "a mighty 
genius," "a power for regeneration in character building/' 
"a seeker for that truth which he discerned as the real 
force in great events and movements." 

It was one more evidence of the irony of destiny that 
that privacy and seclusion which was as the breath of life 
to the crabbed Scotchman should have been at last in- 
vaded; and that the house from which the intruding Phi- 
listine was so resolutely barred during his life-time should 
have been converted into a museum which any one of 
decent manners and appearance might visit upon payment 
of a shilling at the door. 

The collection of relics shown was pitifully small. 
When I wen't to look through the house there were not 
more than half a dozen other visitors present. Two of 
these had arrived in a splendid carriage, with prancing, 
sleek-coated horses, and with groom and coachman in 
spick and span livery on the box; the whole equipage 
was a glaring contrast to the dingy, humble little house 
before whose door it was drawn up. Most of the visitors 
walked about nonchalantly, fingering the weather-beaten 
old bath-tub and the few other utensils and furniture upon 
which they could put the finger of investigation ; peeping 
into closets and making observations in no very reverent 
spirit. The few articles of apparel shown, an old silk hat of 
prodigious size among them, were pathetic evidences, if 
not of poverty, at least of that regard for humble things 
which Carlyle inherited and which he never lost. The 
bare, wooden floors were rough and uneven; the little 
window of the dining-room looked out upon a tiny garden 
with its gravelled walk and the tree under which Carlyle 
sat and read in his long, loose dressing gown with his pet 
cat by his side. A photograph representing him thus was 
one of the most interesting of the collection of likenesses, 
which included several pencil sketches and portraits an 



$o A Looker On in London 

oil. The desk upon which most of his books had been 
written stood in one corner of the dismantled drawing- 
room. It was a plain, deal desk, stained and varnished, 
with a sloping lid. Along the front was a brass plate with 
this inscription, an extract from Carlyle's will: 

"And hereby give and bequeath the same writing table 
to the said Sir James Fitz James Stephen. I know that 
he will accept it as a distinguished mark of my esteem. 
He knows that it belonged to my honored father-in-law, 
and his daughter, and that I have written all my books 
upon it, except only Schiller, and that for -fifty years and 
upward that are now passed I have considered it among 
the most precious of my possessions." 

The desk was lent by Lady Fitz James Stephen, to 
whom it belongs, and was placed originally in the draw- 
ing- room when the Carlyles moved to No. 5 (now No. 24) 
Cheyne Row, in 1834. In 1854 when Carlyle began his 
"Frederick" it was removed to the famous sound-proof 
room at the top of the house, where it remained until 1865, 
when it was returned to its old place in the drawing-room, 
where it was kept during Carlyle's lifetime. 

An interesting picture of the drawing-room on the 
ground floor, "A Chelsea Interior in 1858," is now the 
property of Louisa, Lady Ashburton, by whom it was 
loaned; Carlyle stands by the fire in his dressing-gown 
smoking, while Mrs. Carlyle sits by the table, her little 
white dog sleeping on the sofa. The floor is covered with 
a brilliant red and green carpet, and while the furnishings 
would hardly accord with modern ideas, the room had an 
air of cheerfulness and comfort which did great credit to 
Mrs. Carlyle's thrifty house-keeping. There were many 
portraits of Mrs. Carlyle — one as a young girl, a bright 
piquant face; the others, while retaining the youthful 
brilliancy of expression, were remarkable for the irregu- 
larity of features, the face as a type resembling the por- 



Carlyle's House 51 

traits of Goldsmith. In a corner of the dining-room was 
the death-mask of Carly'le under glass, the rigid face 
wearing an added sternness — the grim severity of the 
dead. On the wall near it were two pencil sketches which 
were most pathetic, having a profound mournfulness of 
expression Which was not apparent in the plaster. These 
were made two hours after the death by Miss Allingham, 
to whom they still belong; the originals from which the 
familiar prints have been reproduced. There were remark- 
ably few manuscripts and letters. One letter was addressed 
to some public official and was a frank reminder that gov- 
ernments should honor intellect, to which they owed their 
existence. In a frayed note-book, written very indistinctly 
in lead pencil, was a tribute, evidently addressed to his 
dead wife, and it ended thus : 

"Oh, my love, where — where?" 

It was painful to have this expression of grief and re- 
gret eyed and commented upon by the curious, who had 
paid their shilling, and who came and went with the in- 
difference of gratified curiosity. Among the books, of 
which there was only a small collection, was a set of the 
first edition of "Frederick the Great." In a glass case in 
the study — the "sound-proof room," which was reached 
by a steep and narrow stair-case — were several long 
stemmed clay pipes, such as Carlyle habitually used. Here 
also was a very small fragment of the manuscript of the 
"French Revolution," all that remains — with half a dozen 
closely written pages of "Sartor Resartus," and a num- 
ber of medals and seals and congratulatory addresses of 
various kinds. The study had been built at a cost of £200, 
but it seems strange that one could imagine any con- 
trivance could be invented within the thin walls of an 
ordinary house, that would shut out the eternal roar of 
London, which is never hushed, even at night. The cease- 
less roll of traffic along the Chelsea embankment, and the 



52 A Looker On in London 

strident cries of the costermonger in the adjacent streets 
could be heard distinctly. The study was lighted by a 
skylight, and a front window in a recess had been cut off 
by a door ; otherwise it was an ordinary garret chamber. 
As I came away I walked to the foot of the street, across 
the pretty "Carlyle Gardens," and paused a moment to look 
at the fine bronze statue that had been placed there in the 
midst of grass and shrubbery. It represents Carlyle sit- 
ting, clad in the ample dressing-gown of the portrait, 
which had adapted itself more kindly to the demands of 
plastic art than the conventional frock coat and trousers, 
that may well be the despair of modern sculptors. The face 
was exquisitely fine and the folded hands, long, thin and 
delicate, were beautiful and expressive. A wreath of 
palms and immortelles, which had been placed there by 
the Carlyle society the day previous, adorned the granite 
base. Within four months the house had been visited 
by more than seventeen hundred people from all parts of 
the world. Why Carlyle should have been held in such 
reverent memory passes comprehension, for no man ever 
lived who had greater and more out-spoken contempt for 
the race — "most of them fools," according to his own 
estimation. Had he been a genial optimist, with a kindly 
regard for mankind, he would not have been half so highly 
esteemed, nor so reverently remembered. 



CHAPTER VI 

PENTONVILLE PRISON 

Through the courtesy of the Governor of Pentonville, 
I had an opportunity to go through this great English 
prison. Considering its nature, the surroundings were sur- 
prisingly cheerful, and a pretty thorough inspection of the 
place led one to the conclusion that many of the inmates, 
notwithstanding the enforced labor, the restraint and the 
separation from the world, were far more comfortable 
than they had ever been in their lives. 

The prison is in the extreme north-east of London, and 
from the street the character of the great building, could 
it be distinctly seen, would not be guessed. The architec- 
ture is good ; the structure is low, in the form of a Maltese 
cross, and the windows are set in frames of iron, the 
octagon panes like those of old English houses ; a few 
only are barred and these are like kitchen windows looking 
into the area of an ordinary London dwelling. The 
grounds, which permit sufficient room for exercise, are 
surrounded by a thick wall thirty feet in height, which, of 
itself, is a security that renders unnecessary any undue dis- 
play of bolts and bars. Opposite the well-rolled drive are 
the neat comfortable houses of the higher officials at- 
tached to the prison. At the entrance near the gate is 
the Prison Mission, and here men are received for a time 
who have been serving long sentences, until an effort has 
been made to find work for them. After the first few 
months of their imprisonment the convicts are allowed a 
per cent, of what they earn, when their conduct has been 

53 



54 A Looker On in London 

satisfactory, and since they are not permitted to squander 
their money, many of the more industrious accumulate 
quite a comfortable sum. 

One of the greatest difficulties has been to prevent the 
men from taking their savings the moment they are dis- 
charged, going to the nearest public-house and spending 
it in drink, which leads to the commission of fresh crimes, 
their re-arrest and re-imprisonment. Of course after each 
such experience their term of commitment is longer and 
the punishment heavier, as is the law in the United States. 

Under the porte cochere, where the police vans halt, was 
an immense iron door studded with heavy spikes, but even 
this was not much more prison-like than the many modern 
gates to the palaces along Park Lane and Piccadilly. 
Upon the lower left-hand panel was a knocker and a 
grating ; we sounded the knocker and immediately a panel 
was thrown back — a door within a door. A porter in a 
dark blue uniform, with brass 'buttons and a coronet on 
his cap, conducted us to the lodge just within the gate. I 
handed him my card and the official permit, which au- 
thorized the authorities to admit me with a friend, and 
the permit was carefully compared with an entry in a 
ledger which was taken down from a shelf ; the document 
and entry corresponding, we followed the porter up the 
smooth graveled walk to the main entrance of the prison 
proper; here we were handed over to one of the guards, 
who was also neatly uniformed in blue, and we were 
shown into a pleasant office prettily carpeted, with a bright 
fire burning in the grate, although the building was com- 
fortably heated with steam. All the offices were thus pro- 
vided with open fires, more for appearance, evidently, than 
because they were really required. 

We were seated, and the young guard informed us 
that the warden would himself conduct us over the prison, 
though he remained to do the honors until his superior 



Pentonville Prison 55 

officer should be at leisure. As we sat chatting- we heard 
near at hand the notes of an organ, which was played by 
some skillful musician, and presently a male quartette 
singing an anthem, the voices being fine and well trained. 

"That is the choir in the chapel practicing for Sunday," 
said the young guard. "The organist and the choir are 
all prisoners. We have a great many well-educated gen- 
tlemen here/' 

Presently the warden arrived, a quiet, courteous man 
whose force of character was unmistakably apparent in 
his somewhat military bearing. He had been acting as 
warden in English prisons for fourteen years, having been 
recently transferred from the neighborhood of Brighton 
to Pentonville. While he admitted that the transfer was 
promotion, the highest of all such appointments in the 
Kingdom, he spoke rather regretfully of the post he had 
left as "such a beautiful place," and expressed a decided 
preference for the country as compared to London. 

From its cruciform construction, all the galleries diverg- 
ing from a common center, a guard stationed in the circu- 
lar space could see in every direction down the long cor- 
ridors. The galleries along the upper stories were 
reached by a spiral stairway under the dome, and both 
galleries and stairway were of light wrought iron. As 
these corridors were well lighted with sky-lights, the ven- 
tilation being excellent and every part of the place as clean 
as the deck of a man-of-war, the effect was certainly any- 
thing but dismal. A few of the men were scrubbing the 
flag-stones, in charge of a single guard, and as we ap- 
proached the command was given, which was scarcely 
audible. 

"Stand ! Face wall !" and the scrubbers obedient'ly rose 
and turned their backs until we passed. Each man wore 
an ugly blouse and trousers of dust-colored canvas, 
marked here and there with a broad arrow, the govern- 



56 A Looker On in London 

ment stamp ; each wore on 'his closely cropped head a little 
canvas cap, pointed before and behind, in shape not unlike 
that worn by certain Scotch regiments. The individuality 
of the prisoner, which not even the hideous prison garb 
could conceal, was strikingly shown in the manner in 
which this cap was adjusted; the older and soberer man 
planted it firmly on the head, the younger and more dash- 
ing set it a little on one side, while others pushed it back 
leaving the forehead exposed. 

When the prisoner arrives at Pentonville, as is the rule 
in most prisons, his clothes are removed, put into a hot 
air closet to be fumigated and he is scrubbed and shaved 
and his hair is clipped close to his head ; he is then given a 
perfectly clean suit of prison clothing. He is allowed a 
change of flannels once in two weeks, and clean bedding 
a little less often. The cells are large, very well lighted 
and ventilated and each is supplied with a cot, basins, plat- 
ters, a table and a set of devotional books, which, at first, 
are all the reading matter that is permitted. 

When a man arrives he sleeps upon a bare cot covered 
only with a blanket ; this cot is folded and stands against 
the wall of the cell in the daytime ; if his behavior is satis- 
factory, after the expiration of the first month he is given 
a mattress on alternate nights ; and after the probation, it 
is furnished him regularly so long as the luxury is not for- 
feited by insubordination and misconduct. There is also 
a good supply of rugs and blankets when these have been 
earned by obedience to the rules. In each cell is a bell 
which the prisoner may ring should he be ill or require 
special attention ; ringing the bell throws down a number, 
plainly designated, outside the door so that it may be seen 
by the guard on duty in the corridor. The most irksome 
punishment is the treadmill. At Pentonville the treadmill 
occupied an immense apartment in which there were 
nearly two hundred men. Two shafts ran along either 3 



Pentonville Prison 57 

side of the wall, one above, the other below, the upper be- 
ing reached by a spiral staircase. In front of the upper shaft 
was a gallery like that in front of the upper tiers of the 
cells in the main corridor of the prison ; to these shafts was 
attached a huge wheel, which revolved toward the prison- 
ers, and as it revolved each man in front of it stepped upon 
the stepping-board, the combined weight bearing it down 
and forcing the wheel to turn. The movement was a 
wearisome climbing, repeated over and over again, requir- 
ing the greatest muscular exertion. The men did not 
stand shoulder to shoulder, but each quite apart and con- 
cealed from his neighbor, in a sort of wooden cell en- 
closed on two sides, their backs being visible to the guard. 
The men Were divided into two shifts — for latter-day 
prison regulations prohibit anything approaching inhu- 
manity — one shift working fifteen minutes and then be- 
ing relieved ; those resting sit on stools about three yards 
apart and of course are not permitted to communicate with 
each other. At the word of command the great wheel 
stops, and those on the treadmill come marching down to 
seat themselves while those resting take their places. The 
labor could not be called cruel, but to stand in that dark, 
narrow space with the ceaseless climb, climb, climb, for no 
one dare stop an instant, must be a galling sort of disci- 
pline; and yet its terrors are rarely ever sufficient to re- 
strain the evil-doer from fresh crimes when he is again 
at liberty. 

It must be confessed that the student in physiognomy 
could find little ground for encouragement in studying 
the countenances of the prisoners. The regular hours 
they were required to keep, the enforced cleanliness, the 
abundant and wholesome food had had a beneficial effect 
for the time, and had temporarily improved their physical 
and mental condition, but most of the faces were hope- 
lessly evil, scowling, defiant or brazenly impudent. The 



58 A Looker On in London 

prisoners, with few exceptions, were the product of he- 
reditary crime, in whom the instinct of vice was irresisti- 
ble, and the majority showed limited intelligence. Judging 
from appearances, which of course are occasionally mis- 
leading, there were not half a dozen, out of the entire four- 
teen hundred men within the prison at that time, who 
seemed to have been of superior birth or education. 

"Are there many here who will reform ?" I asked. 

"Very few," replied the warden, not unkindly, but with 
the conviction of a man whose opinion was based upon a 
thorough and scientific knowledge of criminology, "the 
greater number belong to what I have learned to recog- 
nize, in my long experience in dealing with them, as the 
habitually criminal classes." 

In the treadmill ward some two hundred men were 
locked in with a guard of but four men. 

"Can so small a number keep them in order?" I asked. 

"O ! yes ; they are rarely ever unruly. Sometimes they 
refuse to work ; then they are put upon bread and water 
and the time on the treadmill is lengthened. If they are 
respectful and obedient they are given good marks, by 
which they obtain, not only certain privileges which it is 
worth their while to earn, but which also serve to lessen 
the term of hard labor." 

All the guards on duty seemed to be men of a superior 
class. They were quiet and watchful, spoke but seldom 
and then in tones so subdued that they could scarcely be 
overheard. When I commented on this the warden re- 
plied : 

"It requires men of peculiar qualifications and tempera- 
ment to manage convicts, and especially such men as these, 
successfully ; a quick-tempered person is useless here. As 
soon as he becomes angry he loses his self-control .and is 
then unable to control the prisoners and maintain disci- 1 
pline. He must give his life to studying his work and, ex- 



Pentonville Prison 59 

cept that he is not forced to perform the same sort of la- 
bor, and may come and go at stated intervals, he is, prac- 
tically, almost as much a prisoner as those over whom he 
has supervision." 

The treadmill was not a mere purposeless routine; it 
ground all the grain required for bread in both Pentonville 
and the prison at Wormwood Scrubs. In the bake shop 
the baker, who was also an officer and wore his uniform 
off duty, was superintending the mixing, kneading and 
baking of bread — tasks that had been assigned the con- 
victs. In the store-room the loaves were placed upon the 
shelves to cool and were not given out for the table until 
they were two days old — a rule that was enjoined on the 
score of both economy and health. 

"There is no better bread made anywhere," said the 
cook with pardonable pride, breaking two loaves apart 
that we might see the fine, flaky grain ; it was light, sweet 
and palatable. In the kitchen, under the management of 
the cook, who like the baker was also an officer, other men 
were preparing the vegetables, while soup, beef and cocoa 
were boiling in shining coppers. A little table was spread 
with portions of the food — bread, boiled potatoes and cold 
meat placed there for the convenience of the inspector 
when he should go his rounds. All the repairs, making 
of new doors an'd window frames, stools, metal work, 
mending broken machinery, even to the prison clocks, 
were done by skilled workmen among the prisoners, of 
which there was always a sufficient number. The shops of 
the prison were well-furnished with all the needed equip- 
ments and men were busy at turning-lathes; the black- 
smith was hammering at his anvil, the clock-maker with 
his back to us was painstakingly riveting the cogged 
wheels he had mended, his deft fingers betokening the 
skilled artisan in every movement. 

Outside the prison and within the high wall that shut 



60 A Looker On in London 

out the road, were pleasant, grassy quadrangles carefully 
clipped and kept free from weeds, set in rhododendrons 
and other ornamental shrubs. Around the grass plot ran 
a circular path with other paths bisecting it ; here the men 
were taking their exercise, with two or three guards look- 
ing on. Each wore good, stout shoes and, in addition to 
his prison cap and clothing, a warm cape of dust-colored 
frieze, for it was December and the day was raw and 
chill. From the breast of each man's blouse dangled a 
triangular card bearing his number. The convicts walked 
at a good brisk pace, a little distance apart, and as one stal- 
wart fellow passed us his card became detached from his 
button-hole and fluttered at his feet. He did not halt to re- 
cover it, but continued his enforced march and his mate 
behind ihim picked it up, overtook his fellow prisoner, si- 
lently handed him the card and then fell back into his 
proper place. This was the only semblance of communica- 
tion that we saw, for the prisoners were not allowed to 
talk to one another except at stated intervals. As one of 
the prisoners marched past, the warden quietly ordered 
him to fall back a little as he was approaching too near 
the man in front of him. The offender grinned knowingly, 
but obeyed promptly, and this was the only word of cau- 
tion or command that we had heard, except in the case of 
the scrubbers. 

There is a well-stocked dispensary in charge of a com- 
petent pharmacist, and two good physicians on constant 
duty, day and night. The hospital was a bright, cheerful 
room, the walls tinted in shades of olive green, with rows 
of snow-white cots and fires in open grates. One 
young convalescent who was reading, looked up as we 
entered : while he seemed to possess sufficient intelligence, 
his countenance was anything but frank and engaging. 
There was a pleasant and roomy chapel with a good or- 
gan which we had heard while waiting in the office ; the 



Pentonville Prison 61 

chancel was tastefully appointed and adjoining it were the 
pews for the prison officials ; the men were assigned forms 
— benches that had no support for the back. I was told 
that, although the attendance at chapel was compulsory, 
it was a pleasant change from the routine of prison life 
and most of the prisoners liked to attend the services in 
which they cheerfully and readily took part. 

Last of all we saw "Her Majesty's Room" — where the 
Board of Directors met in session once a month to transact 
business connected with the management of the prison. 
An important part of this regular business is the investi- 
gation of complaints, for even here the utmost respect is 
paid to the old Anglo-Saxon right of appeal. An inspec- 
tor, especially appointed, goes the rounds once a week, 
and any prisoner is entitled to acquaint him with a fancied 
or real grievance which he thinks should receive consid- 
eration. The complainant's name and number are given 
and recorded and his case is then discussed at the next 
directors' meeting. The complaints may relate to food, 
treatment at the hands of officials, or any regulation or 
requirement that may be regarded as excessive or unrea- 
sonable, and are certain of investigation. 

Out of 1,400 inmates but two were in the hospital, so 
that the health of the men was certainly excellent, and 
none who were at work seemed ill or feeble. The reason 
for this high health rate was undoubtedly the regular life 
the men were forced to lead, their inability to gratify their 
vicious inclinations, and the wholesome and abundant food 
with which they were supplied. Each man was given for 
breakfast sixteen ounces of bread, gruel or porridge and a 
bowl of cocoa ; for dinner, soup, vegetables, twelve ounces 
of bread and meat, with a suet pudding on Sunday. The 
diet was varied as much as k could be within the allow- 
ance made for provisioning the prison : it was certainly 
far better than many an honest laborer could afford, who 



62 A Looker On in London 

respected the laws and who scorned the bread of charity 
as he would have rejected the fare of a prison as the price 
of wrong-doing. The difficulty in England, as in the 
United States, has been to furnish convicts with employ- 
ment which is thought to operate against industries upon 
which the law-abiding depend for a livelihood. In Pen- 
tonville, with labor in the treadmill, in the kitchen, bakery, 
laundry and repair shop the men pick oakum used in calk- 
ing men-of-war, and make packing cases for the post-of- 
fice ; it is work which they like and in which they display 
considerable interest. For those who have no trade, bag- 
making is provided, the bags which they manufacture be- 
ing used in the postal service by the letter carriers. Upon 
the whole, the prison, even with its most irksome re- 
straints, is a vast improvement upon the homes from 
which those of the convicts had come who had homes; 
and if there was no improvement in their moral condition 
after a few months or years of imprisonment, there was a 
marked and decided gain, mentally and physically. The 
greater number, in reality, while submitting to punish- 
ment for crime, were more comfortable and were enjoy- 
ing greater peace of mina than they had ever known else- 
where. It accounted for the fact that many who are re- 
leased are ill at ease, and have been known to commit 
crimes that they might return. The work that they are 
required to do at last becomes habitual, and insures suf- 
ficient and unfailing food and shelter, proper care in ill- 
ness and decent burial at death; and comparatively few 
have any ambition beyond this. 



CHAPTER VII 

IN THE LOWER COURTS 

(1895) 

There is very little cause for complaint of the "law's 
delay" nowadays in the English courts — either the higher 
courts or the lower, to which the appeals of the common 
people, chiefly, are made, and in which they constitute 
the majority of those who are arraigned for misdemean- 
ors. The impartiality of the administration of justice, 
while not infallible even here, is at any rate very general. 
Being human, and therefore not faultless, there are occa- 
sions, even in English courts, where justice miscarries, 
and where influence intervenes to avert punishment or to 
secure a mitigation of the sentence; the Maybrick case, 
the sentence and subsequent liberation of Dr. Jameson, 
being two notable instances of this. Nevertheless, it must 
be acknowledged that if justice is not to be had in the 
English courts, it is not to be obtained anywhere. When 
the criminal is a man of high station he has been known 
to receive mysterious information of his threatened arrest 
which gave him opportunity to flee the country ; but this 
departure was equivalent to perpetual banishment. The 
indictment hangs over his head so long as he lives, and 
should he set his foot upon English soil, after his name 
has once been entered upon the criminal records, his ar- 
rest is swift and certain. The cities of Europe have many 
such fugitives, dragging out their lives in exile, and with 
no hope that a friendly revolution or relaxation of police 
vigilance or any sort of political influence will enable 

63 



64 A Looker On in London 

them to return finally to their native land, for which they 
never cease to long. In cases coming within the provisions 
of extradition the same vigilance is apparent, and with 
it, a tirelessness that nothing can baffle or discourage. The 
search for Jabez Balfour, the absconding and embezzling 
head of the Liberator Company, is an illustration of this 
determined effort to bring the criminal to justice. 

There is little of the reprehensible abuse of rejecting 
jurors upon any and every trivial ground, which in the 
United States interrupts the progress of trials, prolong- 
ing them outrageously, for days and even weeks. The 
professional juror, the man who haunts the courts that 
he may be summoned for jury service, apparently does not 
exist in England. Judges are chosen because of their 
fitness for office — an appointment in which politics does 
not figure — and the office is held during good behavior 
for life, or until the incumbent himself, for any reason 
sees fit to resign. 

The office of justice of the peace has been brought into 
contempt everywhere in the United States by the charla- 
tans that have filled it and have thrived upon what they 
call "perquisites ;" in Great Britain the position is one of 
honor and responsibility, and the man who holds it so re- 
spects his dignity that he seldom or never fails to avail 
himself of the "J. P." which he scrupulously appends to 
his signature. 

An incident occurred, soon after my arrival in London, 
which sufficiently illustrates the promptness with which 
the law intervenes for the protection of society. A crimi- 
nal who had been a soldier in the British army in India, 
in a fit of jealousy quarrelled with an unfortunate woman 
who refused to give him a shilling for which he had asked 
her, and he murdered her in the most brutal manner. 
There were no mitigating circumstances, and while the 
man was given every opportunity in the way of defense, 



In the Lower Courts 65 

he was found guilty of murder and condemned to death. 
The sentence was carried out in less than six weeks after 
the murder had been committed. Equal dispatch was 
shown in a subsequent case. A poor old man, who lived 
alone in his house at Musgrove Hill, was found one morn- 
ing lying in the kitchen with his skull crushed. He was a 
retired tradesman, and it was believed that he had a con- 
siderable sum of money concealed on the premises and 
when the murder was discovered it had disappeared. 
Jn their search the police found a child's toy lan- 
tern with a wick of flannelette. Two well known crimi- 
nals, who had been recently released from prison were 
discovered missing from their homes in the East End, 
their families being unusually well supplied with money. 
A comparison of the lantern wick with a little gown worn 
by a child of one of the men proved to be a sufficient clue. 
The murderers were pursued and captured, with only a 
few pence remaining in their pockets of several hundred 
pounds, which it was known they had secured. One of 
them confessed, narrowly escaping being murdered by 
his accomplice who assaulted him savagely upon the wit- 
ness stand. These two men were also given the fullest 
hearing, but they were executed within a very few months 
after the commission of their crime. 

There is a great class of sentimentalists who oppose 
capital punishment and advocate imprisonment for life 
as a substitute. In the United States where the pardon- 
ing power is vested in the Governor, individually, upon 
whom enormous pressure is consequently brought to bear, 
and where this peculiar function becomes involved in poli- 
tics, as in the case of the Chicago anarchists, imprison- 
ment for life may become the merest travesty of justice. 
There are men who have been so sentenced and have died 
within prison walls, but it goes without saying that at 
least one-fourth of these remained in prison because they 



66 A Looker On in London 

were unable to command social or political influence to 
secure par'don. Considering its enormously over-crowded 
population murders are amazingly infrequent in Great 
Britain, and it cannot be denied that the inevitable conse- 
quence of taking life, the unerring retribution that over- 
takes the murderer, has been effective in bringing about 
this state of affairs. The admirable government, the re- 
spect for the law and the wholesome fear of its penalties, 
among the would-be criminal classes, are reflected in pub- 
lic safety, in a degree of security for life and property that 
does not exist in the same measure outside of the United 
Kingdom. 

There is no extravagant multiplication of statutes; it 
is not believed that mere law-making will promote 
order or abate evil ; it is realized that disregard of a sin- 
gle law tends to the general contempt for all law, and con- 
sequently there is a disposition to enforce those already 
existent, rather than encourage the eternal amendment of 
the old and the enactment of new laws. 

When the death sentence is passed the condemned man 
is virtually dead to the world ; there are no visits of sym- 
pathy and condolence, and no presentation of bouquets 
by morbid women. While his health and comfort are hu- 
manely regarded, he passes virtually beyond the pale of 
existence, and the sentence of the court is carried out with 
due respect for decency and order. It cannot be denied, 
however, that, except in the most aggravated and unmis- 
takable cases, there is a growing reluctance to enforce the 
death penalty which the Judge still pronounces wearing 
his black cap ; it is an inevitable reaction from the days of 
legal slaughter, when murder and sheep-stealing were 
punished by a common penalty. 

At the same time, with all its dignity and its almost 
universal justice, one occasionally perceives in the lower 
courts — the justice courts largely — that peculiar incon- 



In the Lower Courts 67 

sistent freedom and familiarity which seem to pervade all 
English institutions, social, civil and religious. It may be 
the remnant of strange, half-sentimental custom, vested in 
tradition, whose origin has been well-nigh forgotten, but 
which furnishes tenable ground for surviving exceptions 
to ordinary rules. 

The most singular illustration of this is the amount of 
controversy which is permitted between the prisoner in 
the dock and the counsel and even the judge upon the 
bench. 

English court rooms are very small, and tickets of ad- 
mission are necessary for the more important trials, so 
that, without being required to attend in person, the pub- 
lic 'has cognizance of all that is said and done by the full 
publication of the proceedings in detail. The Judge's 
witticisms, with laughter and "hear, hear" in parenthesis, 
the sharp retorts of the prisoner, the caustic comments 
of the learned counsel, are all printed, and in this land 
where rigid formality is the rule, a far greater degree of 
personality is permitted than is common in the United 
States. The practice does not prevail in the higher as in 
the lower courts. The following colloquy between a cor- 
oner and a juror which appeared in one of the London 
newspapers illustrates the unrestrained free speech of the 
lower classes : 

At the Stepney Temple a juror complained to Mr. W. 
E. B — , the East London coroner, a man of considerable 
authority, on being summoned twice in two years to serve 
on a jury. "I have lost a sovereign by coming here to- 
day," he complained. 

The Coroner. — What are you ? 

The Juror. — I am a ship's rat-catcher. I ought to have 
been at the docks this morning to get my account signed, 
and now I shall have to wait eight months for my money. 
The ship sailed at ten o'clock. 



68 A Looker On in London 

The Coroner. — Why did you not go before you came 
here? 

The Juror. — How could I get back here by a quarter 
to eleven from the Royal Albert Docks ? Gentlemen won't 
get up for me at six o'clock in the morning. 

The Coroner. — I often get up at six o'clock. 

The Juror. — Superintendents of ships don't get up at 
six o'clock, and I don't believe you do. 

The Coroner (sarcastically). — Thank you! I have 
already held four inquests before coming here. 

The Juror. — Yes, and you get paid for it ! 

The Coroner. — Yes ; by salary. 

The Juror. — I lose my salary by coming here, it is 
very hard that my children should go without a Sunday 
dinner on that account. 

The Coroner. — I admit it is very hard. 

The Juror. — Sympathy without help is like pudding 
without fat. 

The Coroner. — I have already told you that the county 
council for each county is responsible for the payment of 
jurors, and the London county council have refused to 
pay. 

The Juror. — I hope I shall never come here again. If 
I am sent for I shall not come. 

The Coroner. — Wait until that time arrives. 

The dialogue closed by the rat-catcher, apparently 
mollified, asking the coroner if he had any rats at his 
house "that wanted catching." 

The inquiry was answered in the negative with a frank 
comment made by the coroner on the rat-catcher's occu- 
pation. 

The changed position of the woman defendant or plain- 
tiff in the English courts is one of the most remarkable 
evidences of the gradual growth of justice. Formerly, the 
woman whose name for any cause came before the public 



In the Lower Courts 69 

in a legal proceeding, either through her fault or her mis- 
fortune, no matter what her wrongs may have been, or 
how just her claims for reparation, was already half con- 
demned by public opinion; to appear in the courts was 
"indelicate" and "unfeminine" — that shibboleth of igno- 
rant and cruel conservatism which once forced her to 
suffer in silence rather than seek either defense or redress. 
That day has passed, and the English courts within the 
last decade furnish evidence of reform that cannot be dis- 
puted. Once a man might beat his wife with "a stick no 
thicker than his thumb," and he was justified by the law 
since the wife was virtually his chattel which self-interest, 
it was argued, forbade that he should maim or render use- 
less to him. To-day, if he beat her at all, the chances are 
that he will receive a wholesome term of imprisonment 
with still more salutary hard labor. A heart-rending case 
was brought to public notice where an effort had been 
made to induce a wretched charwoman to send her chil- 
dren to the workhouse. By the hardest and most incessant 
toil the utmost 'that she could earn was three shillings 
(75 cents) a week. When she went out to work she was 
forced to lock the children in the one crowded room which 
was their home ; she could not afford to pay anyone to look 
after them, and one day in her absence, the youngest was 
burned to death. After the harrowing circumstances had 
been narrated by the witnesses, the jury gave her a consid- 
erable sum, other funds were subscribed, more lucrative 
employment was found for her, and the poor creature was 
enabled to keep her family together. 

Twenty years ago very little consideration would have 
been shown the natural and praiseworthy maternal in- 
stinct; the children would have been sent to the work- 
house by the board of guardians who would have consid- 
ered themselves competent to act with superior wisdom 
in the matter, and the mother would have been dismissed 



jo A Looker On in London 

as a person of deficient intelligence to whose prejudices 
no importance could possibly be attached. 

One of the most notable trials which had been held for 
many years in which a woman was the plaintiff, occurred 
in March, 1887, and damages were awarded in the ex- 
traordinary sum of £12,000. To make it the more re- 
markable the defendant was a wealthy and distinguished 
West End physician, with a large practice amongst the 
English gentry and nobility. In his professional capacity 
he had made the gravest charge against the character of 
a woman who had been his patient and to whom he was 
connected by marriage. The physician took his wife into 
his confidence, upon the pretext that he wished her to de- 
cide for herself whether their acquaintance with the ac- 
cused woman should continue, and her visits to their house 
be permitted. The husband was absent and his wife, for 
some private reason refused to disclose his whereabouts, 
even to insure the vindication of her own reputation. He 
had contributed nothing to the support of his family who 
had been dependent upon a wealthy brother of the physi- 
cian. He had made them an allowance of £400 per annum, 
the mother being in ill health and unable to work for her- 
self or her children. When the accusations of the physi- 
cian reached the ears of the brother the allowance was 
stopped immediately, and the woman and her family were 
plunged into the deepest poverty and distress — a fact 
which had weight with the judge and jury. The physi- 
cian retained the ablest counsel in England, and the case 
was argued stubbornly and at great length on both sides. 
But neither the high social position nor the great influ- 
ence of the defendant, both in professional and in exclu- 
sive fashionable circles, could save him. The only fear 
expressed at the time was that in the excess of its zeal, 
the jury might have gone too far, and have awarded ex- 
cessive damages, giving grounds for an appeal. Justice, 



In the Lower Courts 71 

however, was done, and the plaintiff received the repara- 
tion she sought. 

The London press in its comment on the verdict pointed 
out that, through the very nature of his office, the physi- 
cian was admitted into the household upon terms of 
peculiar intimacy ; its secrets became known to him, and 
he held in his hand the peace and happiness of hundreds 
innocent of offences committed by those to whom they 
were related or connected, and it was necessary to punish 
betrayal of professional confidence with extreme severity. 
It is true, of course, that the woman whom the court en- 
deavored to compensate for the loss and pain and humilia- 
tion she had been made to suffer would remain under a 
stigma for the remainder of her life, however innocent, 
no matter what the court decided. But it was an immense 
advance to have been made within half a century that the 
simple justice of her cause, the wrong that she had suf- 
fered, weighed in the balance against wealth, position and 
professional influence, should have appealed to a jury with 
irresistible force. 






CHAPTER VIII 

ENGLISH WOMEN AND THEIR AFFAIRS 

(189s) 

While women in the United States are in advance of 
those in England in the professions and in opportunity to 
earn a living in any calling which they may select and for 
which they have talent and training, English women are 
vastly their superiors in political knowledge and experi- 
ence. It is expected in Great Britain that every woman 
of intelligence shall be at least passively interested in poli- 
tics, and a very great number are actively interested as 
well ; the higher their position and the wider their influ- 
ence the more it is demanded of them that they shall do 
their part in public affairs. Their duty is not confined 
to what is called "influencing" votes, for where the father, 
husband or brother is a candidate, the wife and daughters 
and their women friends and relatives frequently go upon 
the hustings, hold meetings and make an energetic house 
to house canvass. 

The latter is a method of electioneering that is consid- 
ered peculiarly effective, and it is one of the means most 
highly approved by those two great political organizations, 
the Liberal Club and the Primrose League. In addition 
to speaking and visiting and persuading householders, 
women canvassers loyally display the party colors of their 
candidate. In short, among the higher classes, a canvass 
means for the English woman, very frequently, quite as 
much labor and anxiety as for those whom we have al- 
ways regarded in England as the voting population. In 

72 



English Women and Their Affairs 73 

Grea/t Britain women householders vote everywhere for 
boards of guardians, the officials who have charge of par- 
ish business ; a parish corresponding somewhat to a ward 
in an American city, each having its own public library, 
caring for its own poor, and collecting its own rates. 
Women not only vote for this important office, but are 
themselves eligible as members of such boards and there 
are several hundred now filling this responsible post with 
great ability. The experiment has been so successful, 
women showing such fitness and capacity for the work, 
that their numbers upon parish boards are being con- 
stantly increased, and in several instances the management 
of affairs has been largely left in their hands. Women 
householders also vote in municipal elections in London, 
for what are called the "County Council" and its counter- 
part in other cities, a body corresponding in its functions, 
to the board of Aldermen in an American city. With 
other duties the County Council of London supervise the 
repair and cleaning of streets, public improvement in 
which the British government is not involved, sanitation 
and other matters pertaining to the well-being of the 
public. 

The police of London, it should be explained, are con- 
trolled by Parliament — one of many illustrations of the 
odd mingling of its local and imperial functions. In the 
annual elections for County Council, which are held 
in November, women selected by both Conservative and 
Liberal committees make a house to house canvass for 
several weeks before the election ; and, where voters are 
difficult to convince, they make not one, but several visits. 
They also attend public meetings during a canvass, which 
are far more turbulent and lawless than anything that is 
ordinarily permitted in the United States, notoriously lax 
as our election methods are known to be. Speakers are 
interrupted not only with rude questions, but with missiles 



74 



A Looker On in London 



of a still more unpleasing nature, an expression of dis- 
favor rarely ever resorted to by an American audience, 
however they may object to the principles and oratory of 
the speaker. An instance was related where a woman of 
high rank, who had always espoused the Liberal cause, 
saw fit to canvass for a Conservative candidate in the 
great election of 1895. She went into a hall in one of the 
smaller towns where a meeting was held, and was hissed 
and hooted until she was forced to take her seat. The ani- 
mosity which she had roused did not expend itself there, 
and she had, finally, to retreat to her carriage by a back 
door and thence to the railway station through an obscure 
street. Before she reached the station, though the horses 
were driven at the bent of their speed, she was overtaken 
and a heavy bottle came crashing through one of the car- 
riage windows filling her lap with splintered glass. Had 
she leaned forward she would have been seriously hurt, 
or possibly killed. 

All of these difficulties, however, are of slight conse- 
quence to plucky English women, who consider it their 
duty to do their part in the elections since partial suffrage 
has been granted them and is likely to be extended, 
whether they desire it or not. 

Only householders can vote, and these only in municipal 
elections, but it is agreed that, since the property of women 
is taxed to pay for public improvement, they are entitled 
to have some voice in the disposition of funds which they 
have been forced to contribute. Having conceded this 
much, arguing from the same premise, it is difficult to 
understand how they can be legally debarred from Parlia- 
mentary suffrage. In the latter part of 1897, however, 
the Liberal party boldly endorsed equal Parliamentary 
suffrage and stands pledged to its fulfillment. 

The polling places are always in reputable quarters; 
the elections being held in the Town Hall of each 



English Women and Their Affairs 75 

parish. Police are stationed at the entrance and exit, who, 
however stormy and turbulent the preliminary meetings 
may have been, are rarely called upon to interfere during 
the polling. No loungers are permitted near the polling 
places and there is very little excitement of any kind. The 
woman voter passes in at the door, gives her name and 
residence to 'the officer in charge ; the name is then looked 
up on the registration list, as is the law in the United 
States, and if it correspond to that which has been of- 
ficially recorded, the woman voter is furnished a ballot. 
She then retires to a desk and places a cross marked 
plainly in ink after the name of her chosen candidate. The 
ballot is then folded and 'stamped with her number and de- 
posited, folded with the number uppermost, in the ballot 
box which is locked and sealed, to be opened and the bal- 
lot counted when the polls are closed. 

While the Liberal party has taken the initiative in pub- 
licly declaring itself in favor of Parliamentary suffrage 
for women, many of the Conservative leaders are pro- 
nounced in its favor, Lord Salisbury and Mr. Balfour hav- 
ing openly and repeatedly expressed their approval, and 
having been for many years loyal adherents of the cause. 

Strangely enough, the most active enemies of political 
equality for women are to be found in Radical ranks. In 
the United States men of this class have a certain mag- 
nanimity; in England, while they do not object to the 
highest educational advantages, some even going to the 
extreme of advocating degrees for women who have ful- 
filled all the conditions and passed the examinations at the 
Universities, they manifest a strong determination to keep 
the reins of government in their own hands and to resist 
all division of authority. In other words, their position 
is that of American politicians, who consent willingly 
enough that women shall bear their full portion of the bur- 
dens of government without an equivalent recognition of 



j6 A Looker On in London 

rightful authority. They profess to believe that since 
women are so rapidly taking their places in the industrial 
field, being clothed with such responsibility as is consistent 
with their womanly attributes, no further extension of 
privilege is necessary. To this it need only be said that the 
widely different position of English women to-day from 
that which they held fifty years ago is due, not to the ef- 
forts of those who oppose equal suffrage, but to those men 
and women who have labored without ceasing for its ac- 
complishment ; and the same is equally true in the United 
States. 

While there are yet many economic, political and edu- 
cational inequalities to overcome, the trend of events in 
Great Britain, as throughout the world, is in the direction 
of justice which shall make intelligence and honesty and 
reasonable responsibility, not class nor sex, the only quali- 
fications for the exercise of the franchise. In the further- 
ance of this end English women, like those in the United 
States, have been aided and counseled at every step by 
wise and liberal-minded men. 

The attitude of English men in what are called literary 
pursuits, however, toward women of the same profession 
furnishes much food for reflection. The spirit which they 
betray toward their women rivals has no counterpart in the 
United States, although it has been evidently acquired by 
several who have taken up their residence in London. 
This attitude may be described as either actively hostile or 
patronizingly tolerant, and there are apparently very few 
intermediate degrees of opinion; the great and notable 
exceptions are George Meredith, Thomas Hardy, Zang- 
will and Hall Caine, and with these, Moore and Gissing 
and Grant Allen. From the standpoint of abstract genius, 
they are more than a majority, as opposed to mere supe- 
riority of numbers. 

Phillipa Fawcett who stood far higher than her rival 



English Women and Their Affairs 77 

who is enjoying honors and perquisites which she had 
fairly earned in the mathematical tripos at Cambridge in 
1890, is said to be only one of many women as highly en- 
dowed, studying or teaching at Newnham and Girton. 

The illiberal monopoly of educational advantages has 
tended to the intellectual development of English men at 
an apparent sacrifice of broad and general intellectual 
training for English women. In the United States the 
difference is not so marked, which accounts for the equal- 
ity and comradeship between the sexes that it is so dif- 
ficult for a foreigner to comprehend. To-day, in both 
England and the United States at least one-third of the 
successful writers are women. This means, to put it 
bluntly, a division of the patronage of the reading public, 
and a liberal -share of publishers' royalties — a sufficient 
raison d'etre for unfriendliness and disapproval — the sur- 
vival of mediaeval supremacy that it will require several 
generations to overcome. 

Some of the best pictures in the recent annual exhibi- 
tions of the Royal Academy were painted by Mrs. Alma 
Tadema, Lady Butler and Henrietta Raeburn, while a 
large canvas : "Colt-hunting in the New Forest," by Lucy 
Kemp- Welch, one of the greatest works in the exhibition 
of 1897, was purchased by the Academy "under the terms 
of the Chantry Bequest." 

There is no special unfriendliness, but perhaps the re- 
verse, between men and women painters ; but the attitude 
of the Academy in refusing to admit women to the full re- 
wards of excellence, in withholding the coveted honor of 
the Associate Royal Academician and Royal Academician, 
where there is no question as to merit, is parallel with the 
conservatism of the Universities. It is, of course, an ex- 
pression of human limitation, but where the whole political 
and educational system has been devised by men for men, 
in which justice and fair dealing toward women are still 



78 



A Looker On in London 



an after thought, one cannot censure its defects with too 
much severity. Where custom has been fixed for centu- 
ries, rooted in the very soil, it is difficult to displace the 
old and establish the new, whatever the claims of the lat- 
ter to the approval of a wise and more tolerant genera- 
tion. But that justice will prevail, that tremendous re- 
forms have been already achieved cannot be disputed, and 
there are many thousands who agree with the Head-Mas- 
ter of one of the great Public Schools who said in a pub- 
lic address : "it is the part of wisdom to confer as a 
favor that which, ultimately, will be exacted as a right." 



\ 



CHAPTER IX 
women's clubs 

(1896) 

The women's club in England is comparatively a new 
institution. Organizations of women have been either 
political, like the famous Primrose League, or religious, 
under the domination of the church. How strongly the 
latter influence still is, may be inferred from the fact that 
a woman's conference held at Nottingham in the autumn 
of 1895 in which education, the franchise, economics, phil- 
anthropic and kindred topics were discussed and in which 
many of the delegates were non-conformists, was opened 
by a sermon and the celebration of the communion. 

Women's clubs in England in most respects are entirely 
different from those of the United States. They are, in 
the firsit place, limited as to numbers, and the fees are 
much larger; and in the second place, they are modelled 
after the clubs for men which flourish in London and the 
large provincial cities, as they do nowhere else in the 
world. The Alexandra and the Victoria which are listed 
in Whittaker's almanac "for ladies of position only," are 
especially of this nature. The Albemarle is "for ladies and 
gentlemen," and "The University," for ladies, admits 
medical women and others holding university diplomas. 

The Victoria and Alexandra, the two most exclusive 
women's clubs in London, have reading-rooms, drawing- 
rooms, dining-rooms and bed chambers where members 
may be lodged for a fortnight, if they desire, and it has 
been found a great convenience for those living in the 

79 



80 A Looker On in London 

country, when they come up to town. In each the en- 
trance fee is five guineas with an annual subscription of 
five guineas and both have an extensive waiting list. Both 
are purely social. Almost every English woman of for- 
tune, and none but women of fortune can afford to belong 
to either of these clubs, has her money settled upon her- 
self prior to her marriage, which makes it absolutely her 
own, beyond her husband's control, so that the mainte- 
nance of an expensive club is a much simpler matter than 
it would be in the United States where comparatively few 
women can boast of an independent income. It need 
hardly be said that both clubs, notwithstanding their so- 
cial prestige, are regarded by the ultra conservative with 
disfavor, and are considered subversive to domestic life. 

The Pioneer club is probably the dub most widely 
known outside of London. It was founded by the late 
Mrs. Massingberd, a woman of good birth and large for- 
tune, and who gave liberally to its support. The Pioneer 
club occupies a handsome house in Bruton street with 
the usual complement of reading, drawing and dining- 
rooms and bed chambers. A large staff of servants was 
formerly employed and the equipment throughout was ex- 
cellent and complete. It included in its membership many 
women of title and position, with others engaged in the 
professions, admitting even government employes and 
stenographers, one of its objects being to promote democ- 
racy, and to abolish class distinction, at least upon its own 
common ground. To further this plan, names and titles 
were eschewed and members were designated by number 
only — so that "99" might be ta duches's or a post-office 
clerk, as it happened. 

The Pioneer club has been partly educational and has 
supported various educational enterprises, classes having 
been formed for study, as in American clubs, and debates, 
the reading of papers followed by discussion, being a part 



Women's Clubs 81 

of the weekly programme. These exercises are held in 
the evening instead of the afternoon, and it must be ac- 
knowledged that they draw together the most heterogene- 
ous audience imaginable — an assemblage partly in full 
dress and partly in street costume, many nationalities, 
French, German, American and even Indian being repre- 
sented. 

On Wednesdays "At Homes" are given to which men 
are invited, invitations that were frequently accepted out 
of curiosity — the hospitality of the club having been oc- 
casionally abused. After the death of Mrs. Massingberd, 
which occurred in the winter of 1896, there was a divi- 
sion of opinion as to the future policy to be pursued by 
the club and the formation of a second organization was 
agitated. It was decided, finally, that it should retain its 
autonomy, under the old name and still occupy its old 
quarters. 

It is doubtful, however, if it ever again exerts precisely 
the same influence that it wielded under Mrs. Massing- 
berd's regime, clubs being much less of a novelty than 
they were when the Pioneer club was founded in 1878. 
Furthermore, Mrs. Massingberd had a marked genius for 
leadership, inspiring others with her own enthusiasm, and 
possessing that tact and knowledge of character which 
enabled her to reconcile hostile factions and establish har- 
mony and unity where disaffection threatened. 

The Writers' club which has its rooms in Hastings 
House, Norfolk street Strand, is both social and profes- 
sional. Both characters are successfully combined, and it 
affords pleasant entertainment and many comfortable 
privileges to a class of hard working women who have 
little time for social life, enabling them to help each other 
in the most direct and practical manner. Like the 
Women Journalists' club, all writers, whether for the press 
or the magazines, with those who devote themselves to au- 



82 A Looker On in London 

thorship exclusively, are eligible to membership. Its chief 
purpose is, apparently, to assist women writers upon the 
press for whom, strangely enough, there is no such liberal 
provision in the offices of the great London newspapers, as 
has been made in American newspaper offices. 

As the Writers' club is just off the Strand, in the very 
center of the newspaper and publishing district, the 
women writers find the pleasant rooms, furnished with 
tables and writing materials, a great convenience. Here 
"copy" can be prepared and left at the newspaper office 
as the reporter or writer is on her way home. The entire 
suite is upon the ground floor, and includes a writing 
room, dining room, a kitchen, a cloak room and two re- 
ception rooms. A plain dinner, tea and supper are fur- 
nished at a very moderate cost and while the Writers' club 
has grown steadily in membership, gradually extending 
its resources, it has become more than self-supporting and 
has a comfortable balance in the bank. The rooms are 
plainly but well furnished. Over the mantel in the recep- 
tion rooms are bulletin boards upon which are posted not 
only announcements of meetings and applications for 
membership, but applications for engagements from 
women readers and singers. 

The honorary President of the Writers' club is the 
Princess Christian, and among a lengthy list of Vice- 
Presidents are such well known names as Mme. Adam, 
Mrs. Alexander, the novelist, Mrs. G. Linnaeus Banks, Mrs. 
the Hon. Mrs. H. W. Chetwynd, Lady Jeune, Edna Lyall, 
Frances Hodgson Burnett, Miss Rosa Nouchette Carey, 
the Countess of Munster, Mrs. Richmond Ritchie, Lady 
Se'ton, and the Duchess of Sutherland. The executive 
committee, as in most clubs, is empowered to transact all 
business, and fill any vacancies that may occur during the 
current year after the annual election of officers. Its 
chairman in 1887 was Mrs. Humphrey Ward, who, al- 



Women's Clubs 83 

though she attended the club irregularly, is said to be 
much interested in the work being done. The committee 
consists of twelve members among whom are Lady Jeune 
who is a prolific writer for London periodicals and news- 
papers; Miss Margaret Bateson, the associate editor of 
the Queen, one of the most brilliant and scholarly young 
journalists in England; Miss Ada Heather-Biggs and 
Miss Strutt-Cavelle. 

As in all such clubs, a few of the members are merely 
dilettanti, but many earn their living by writing and there 
are, consequently, no literary exercises in the list of its 
club recreations. On Friday the weekly house tea is given 
to which members have the privilege of inviting a guest, 
upon payment of a small fee. If the guest does not ac- 
company her hostess she presents her card at the door, it is 
sent in and the member joins her in the writing room and 
escorts her to the reception rooms which are always well 
filled. A table is spread with the whitest damask covered 
with flowers and glittering with silver at which tea, bread 
and butter and cakes are served. The tea is strong — as it 
is everywhere in England — and it adds an appreciable 
zest to the conversation which never seems to languish. 
Both men and women attend these pleasant and informal 
gatherings and one can generally count upon meeting there 
the author of the last new book, — the man or woman most 
talked about at that particular hour; the artists seem to 
hold aloof except on more formal occasions, having little 
coteries of their own which they apparently prefer. 

The Writers' club has been in existence only a few 
years but it has a membership of over four hundred. This 
has so taxed its accommodations that it has been decided 
to limit its future growth in some manner, which it was 
thought the executive committee would be able to de- 
vise. 

The Women Journalists' club is another comparatively 



84 A Looker On in London 

new organization with rooms in Henrietta street. Its 
President is Mrs. Craigie (John Oliver Hobbes) and it 
provides a course of lectures during the winter, and gives 
what is known as a midsummer party to which all liter- 
ary, artistic and social London is bidden. In June, 1896, 
this great function was held at Stafford House — the town 
residence of the Duke and Duchess of Sutherland, and 
there was such a demand for invitations that the commit- 
tee was forced to announce through the columns of the 
morning newspapers that no more cards would be issued, 
those which had been sent having been inexorably marked 
"strictly non-transferable." The invitations included ev- 
ery artist, man or woman, every journalist, author, musi- 
cian and actor of note in London, with scientists, mem- 
bers of Parliament, cabinet ministers, diplomats and those 
who lived simply to enliven and adorn the social world. 
Long before ten o'clock there was a line of carriages 
stretched down Pall Mall, each awaiting its turn at the 
entrance in the shadow of the great porte cochere around 
which was stationed an array of footmen in black and gold 
livery. The guests were received by the President, Mrs. 
Craigie, a woman of striking beauty and dignity, who was 
assisted by Mrs. Johnson, the editor of The Gentle- 
woman, and other women journalists. 

A remarkably varied programme had been arranged, 
literally suited to all tastes, and the names of the artists 
who had contributed their services included Mme. Albani 
and Cissy Loftus, Arthur Roberts, the comedian and 
Johannes Wolff the violinist, Alice Gomez, the contralto 
of the St. James concerts, and Letty Lind of the Empire 
Music Hall. Mme. Albani did not appear, but the beauti- 
ful and fascinating Cissy Loftus did not disappoint the 
company, and she gave an extremely clever imitation of a 
popular actress whose mannerisms were then the delight 



Women's Clubs 85 

of the Music Hall artists, and a source of pecuniary profit 
as well. 

The lectures of the club are held in the rooms of the 
Royal Society, Adelphi and I had the pleasure of hearing 
on one occasion Prof. Herkomer, and, somewhat later, T. 
P. O'Connor, M. P., who gave an address upon "Jour- 
nalism." 

The lecture of Prof. Herkomer was largely autobio- 
graphical, and the speaker made a special request that a 
chairman and the vote of thanks, which formally close 
such an address, be dispensed with. Each member had 
been permitted to invite a guest and a large audience was 
present. Professor Herkomer came upon the platform, a 
man of slender figure, of somewhat nervous manner, the 
pallor of his delicate and regular features intensified by 
his dark hair; he looked about a moment, glanced down 
at a long table covered with pens, ink and blotting-paper 
and said 'that the lecture would be delivered with the ex- 
plicit understanding that it was not to be reported for the 
daily press. He did not proceed until the writing ma- 
terials were taken away, as if he feared that some one of 
the numerous lady journalists present might yield to an 
irresistible impulse, rush to the table and begin taking 
notes on the spot, before she could be prevented, taken 
into custody and led away. With the removal of the pens 
and ink no such coup de main was possible. The lecture 
was one that was delivered several times during the course 
of that winter, which was a sufficient reason for the re- 
quest that no report be made for publication. It was 
reminiscent, intensely interesting, without egotism or any- 
thing that approached self-laudation. The great painter 
frankly related how the sale of his first picture had been 
compassed : sitting in an omnibus, comparatively unknown 
in the great world of London, he overheard two gentlemen 
discussing pictures — a prospective purchase, among other 



86 A Looker On in London 

topics. He plucked up courage, informed them that he 
was a painter and had just finished a picture which he would 
like very much to have them see. They expressed their 
willingness to visit his studio, the address was given, they 
came and one of them actually bought the picture. When 
he painted his "Chelsea Pensioners" his friends had 
warned him against attempting a canvas of such great 
size. He had his own views; the picture was painted as 
he had planned it, and then sent, in fear and trembling, 
to the hanging committee of the Royal Academy. He was 
watching at night by the bedside of a friend who was 
dangerously ill when the telegram came informing him 
that the picture had been accepted and he said : "I burst 
into tears and fell upon my knees in gratitude to God." 

Mr. T. P. O'Connor's paper was also brilliant and in- 
teresting, as might have been expected, but rather badly 
read — with a falling inflection at the end of every sentence, 
which made it difficult to follow him. The functions of 
the critic were sharply discussed afterwards, one grievance 
calling forth especial protest — the custom of employing 
one and the same critic upon half a dozen different jour- 
nals; where the criticism was adverse it appeared as if 
all these journals were of the same mind; whereas, it was 
merely the opinion, widely disseminated, of one and the 
same individual. The corresponding advantage of sc wide 
a circulation of favorable opinion was not mentioned, al- 
though, certainly, something might have been said on that 
side of the question, also. 

Some time after this I was invited twice to the Play- 
goers' club — on one occasion when the subject for the 
evening was: "Can Women Write Plays?" — the paper 
having been written by Mrs. Oscar Beringer ; Mr. Beere, 
the dramatic critic, Mr. Rose, who dramatized "The Pris- 
oner of Zenda," and Lady Bancroft, the actress-manager, 
whose husband had been recently knighted — taking part 



Women's Clubs 87 

in the discussion. At a subsequent meeting the address 
was delivered by Zangwill, upon the "Modern Drama," a 
number of well known managers speaking upon the sub- 
ject. 

Both men and women are admitted to the Playgoers' 
club, which is comparatively a young organization, but 
quite enterprising and vigorous and with a very large 
membership. It has strong affiliation with the literary 
profession. 

It is the custom to invite some distinguished author to 
preside at the meetings which are held on Sunday evening 
in the banqueting hall of St. James restaurant in Picca- 
dilly — Sunday being the one day of leisure upon which 
theatrical people can reckon, as the theatres are still 
rigidly closed on Sunday throughout Great Britain. The 
audience is always varied and interesting, musicians^jour- 
nalists, artists, critics and of course the actors themselves 
assembling in force. The meetings are conducted on the 
plan of "a smoker," and most of the men present smoked 
cigars and cigarettes ; and a few of the more daring did 
not remove their hats. The air was blue and thick, and 
the windows tightly closed so that breathing with any- 
thing like ease was a pretty severe test of the capacity of 
one's lungs. Mrs. Beringer, who had been asked to 
give some account of women dramatists, was herself a 
very successful playwright. She had tried her hand at 
several short plays and "A Bit of Old Chelsea," her latest 
production, had been running at the Royalty Theatre for 
some months. While there were certain speeches and 
situations that any but a London audience would have pro- 
nounced slightly broad, the construction was good, and 
the little drama abounded in genuine humor and pathos. 

Mrs. Beringer appeared upon the platform promptly at 
eight o'clock, a tall, graceful woman, with a face of a 
somewhat oriental type, dark eyes, dark hair and a slightly 



88 A Looker On in London 

aquiline nose. She read extremely well, beginning with a 
somewhat superfluous apology for her incapacity as a 
critic, the confession of a fault that was not apparent to 
her audience. She reviewed the dramatic work of women 
in the past, confining herself chiefly to the misdemeanors 
of Mrs. Aphra Behn, but passing over Joanna Baillie of 
whom even the caustic Byron made an exception when he 
wrote: "Women cannot write tragedy, except Joanna 
Baillie." Miss Mitford was also forgotten whose "Rienzi" 
was produced in 1828 with the "Foscari" and "Charles I" 
for which she received very large sums. It was argued 
that men and women possessed precisely the same emo- 
tional and intellectual qualities that fitted them for play- 
writing. She did not claim that women had the intellec- 
tual force of men, but she believed that they had keen and 
more delicate perceptive powers, which were essential to 
character delineation, and which she considered the chief 
requisite of the dramatist. A novelist had many aids of 
which the playwright could not avail himself ; description, 
incident, the direct effect of his own personality, none of 
which could be utilized in the construction of a play when 
the plot must be developed by the character and made ap- 
parent by the denouement. All manifestations of art were 
defined as the outcome of experience. It was impossible 
to depict life without having lived, and in the past women 
had been hampered by restrictions — the narrowness of the 
sphere in which they were born. She did not think that 
any just estimate of women's genius could be made until 
they had known something of the freedom and training 
which had been enjoyed by men from the beginning of 
time; they were simply upon probation. She had great 
hope for the future ; women were displaying ability in so 
many directions, as opportunity was given them, that she 
had no doubt whatever as to their ultimate success when 
they had been further schooled by experience. She gave 



Women's Clubs 89 

a sly thrust at certain violations of the code on the part of 
shrewd aspirants to fame in the province of dramatic au- 
thorship. One of these ladies having finished her play in- 
vited a well known critic to come and hear it read. The 
tea table was spread, decorated with lights and flowers 
and the author herself appeared in a most becoming gown. 
She read her comedy, and as the critic took his leave asked 
him tremblingly what he thought of it. By way of reply 
he exclaimed with emphasis: "You darling!" But he had 
nothing to say about the play ! Mrs. Beringer confessed 
naively that she had never had such an encounter herself, 
— a confession that was greeted with much laughter and 
applause. Her conclusion, after a careful summing up of 
all the arguments that she had presented, was that 
dramatic work of the best class in the future would be 
-written by women. 

The gentleman who opened the discussion began his 
speech with what might be called a general onslaught. He 
spoke indistinctly, turning his face aside so that it was a 
little difficult to hear perfectly all that he said, but in 
these recurrent intervals of incoherency it could not be 
supposed that he had expressed any opinion that was es- 
pecially tolerant or commendatory ; his general tone of dis- 
approval precluded any such hope. Women, he declared, 
had never written anything of any consequence for the 
stage ; Mrs. Aphra Behn had excelled even her profligate 
age in outspoken indecency. He named all the recent 
dramatic authors among women, in not one of whom was 
any merit to be found. Lady C — had written a play which 
was a failure, like others which he mentioned. Miss C. G — 
had produced what was called a play, in which a most 
chaste and charming actress had been subjected to the in- 
dignity of appearing in breeches. Somebody had written 
something that had run a few nights only because of a par- 
ticularly nasty inuendo in the second act — very few peo- 



90 A Looker On in London 

pie came in time for the first. In short, he declared au- 
thoritatively, that the influence of women playwrights had 
been distinctly to lower the moral tone of the stage. Hav- 
ing pronounced this anathema the speaker sat down amid 
very feeble and dispirited applause. The reader of the 
paper preserved her serenity under the scoring, in a way 
that proved conclusively that women, as well as men, can 
bear with composure criticism that verges dangerously 
upon personal abuse. Mr. Rose, who responded to the dra- 
matic mysogynist, took a decidedly optimistic view, and 
thought that there was no reason why women should not 
write plays, and great plays. As Mrs. Beringer had said, 
barriers had been thrown in their way, and all the ordinary 
conditions had been opposed to them. He corroborated 
her opinion: to write one must first live; the woman 
dramatist must know men and women and the world in 
Which they actually dwelt. Even by men, with all their 
superior advantages, not more than three or four great 
plays had been produced in a century ; and in all the ages 
there had been but one Shakespeare. Women had dis- 
tinguished themselves in recent years in many fields, doing 
difficult work as well as it had been done by men, where 
an opportunity had been given them. He did not think 
that the field of play-writing was exceptional, and, be- 
cause a woman had not yet written a great play was no 
reason why she would not write one in the future ; she had 
the requisite genius, feeling and intellect. 

Lady Bancroft was called upon and after much urging 
spoke rather reluctantly, explaining that she had never at- 
tended a meeting of the Playgoers' club before, and cer- 
tainly had not expected to make a speech. In her long ex- 
perience as manager of a London theatre, she had no rea- 
son to be much impressed with what she had seen of plays 
written by women and which had been submitted to her 
for approval. She gave a very humorous account of one 



Women's Clubs 91 

which the author had asked permission to read to her, 
proffering the modest opinion that she, the author, be- 
lieved it to be the greatest play that had ever been pro- 
duced and that the one situation, which was the dramatic 
and rhetorical climax "had never been presented on the 
stage." The generous lady-manager agreed to read the 
play, insisting upon reading it herself, by way of shorten- 
ing the ordeal, and she was to go through it at her leisure. 
The scene that was to astonish the London public was ar- 
ranged in this wise : A lady who had a husband had also 
a lover. While she was holding a secret conference with 
the lover she fainted, the husband having appeared unex- 
pectedly upon the scene. Reviving suddenly, roused no 
doubt by an acute consciousness of the great rudeness of 
the omission, she exclaimed: "O, I beg your pardon: I 
have neglected to introduce you!" The play was a 
tragedy, not a comedy. 

At the end of the speech-making Mrs. Beringer re- 
capitulated the points brought up in the discussion, very 
gracefully acknowledging the support that her position 
had received, and replying with like grace and tact to 
those who had been rather unduly severe in their opposi- 
tion. 

Zangwill's paper which I heard several weeks later, was 
a decidedly caustic arraignment of modern drama. He 
was of very distinguished appearance, tall, slight, with a 
decided Semitic cast of countenance, though the features 
were much less heavy than appears in his portraits. He 
spoke with much deliberation, giving his audience ample 
time to catch his points which, for the most part, were 
strongly put and invariably well taken. He disapproved 
without reservation the custom of producing a play which 
was repeated many nights in succession; he thought the 
practice fatal to dramatic composition, the authors being 
crowded out by this usurpation, while the actors them- 



92 A Looker On in London 

selves, once letter-perfect, grew indolent and indifferent. 
They lost the great incentive of continued and renewed ef- 
fort. He contrasted this demoralizing English and Ameri- 
can custom to the more rigid requirements of the French 
and German stage, where every artist was obliged to have 
a varied repertoire of great plays, which were presented 
at short intervals, and upon very brief notice. He be- 
lieved that this state of readiness for whatever might be 
demanded of them, accounted for the finished and artistic 
work of both French and German actors. The London 
stage at that time was reviewed not much to its credit, 
several popular melo-dramas were mercilessly condemned 
and at least one accomplished actor-manager severely 
taken to task for surrendering to the demands of British 
Philistinism. As an evidence of further decadence, the 
greatest crime with which the modern playwright could 
be charged was that of being "literary." It was impos- 
sible to read a modern play ; yet more delightful reading 
than the old English plays could not be found. He thought 
that actors should cultivate literary taste ; that they should 
be familiar, not only with the classics, but with all Euro- 
pean literature, which they should be able to read in the 
original. He gave a very amusing incident in which he, 
himself, was the chief actor; he had been in Paris and 
had taken breakfast with a very distinguished English 
actor-manager. At this breakfast it was arranged that he 
should write a play for him. It was thoroughly discussed 
and, having virtually reached an agreement, they parted. 
When he returned to London while passing the theatre 
one of the associate lessees rushed out — "a man of my own 
race," Zangwill explained, and expressed his great gratifi- 
cation that he was to write the play. 

"But," he added, cautioning him, "remember, Zang- 
will, no d — d literature !" 

Several actor-managers present defended their fellow- 



Women's Clubs 



93 



managers with much wit and spirit ; among them a gentle- 
man who had vainly endeavored to raise the public taste 
to the level of Ibsen and had made a disastrous financial 
failure of it. 

In all the talk, while the women were not quite so 
fluent and numerous as the men, those who did speak ac- 
quitted themselves with credit, coming to the point with 
great directness, and showing themselves liberally en- 
dowed with good sense and humor. Miss Kate Roorke 
thought well of dramatic schools, such as were common in 
the United States, as a means of educating young men and 
women in the art of acting, it being understood that she 
herself was personally interested in such an institution. 
She defended her position by calling attention to the great 
degree of excellence that had been attained by young men 
and women on the American stage — especially young 
women, many of whom had achieved much success in Lon- 
don, where they were then greatly esteemed at all the 
leading theatres. This theory was warmly disputed, the 
majority deciding that the stage itself, where all great 
actors and actresses had been trained from childhood, was 
the only school in which real dramatic art could ever be 
acquired. There was no substitute for the discipline of 
failure or the stimulus of success, which were possible 
only on the real stage, behind the foot-lights where the 
verdict of the audience — the arbiter of the actor's destiny 
— was immediately rendered. 

The Sandringham club, at 13 old Bond street, is one 
of the newer organizations, and has convenient and com- 
fortable rooms within walking distance of the galleries 
and the principal theatres. Once a week during the sea- 
son it gives pleasant "At Homes" with music and read- 
ings as special attractions. It has made a departure from 
the ordinary rules in admitting to its privileges, upon pay- 
ment of the required fee, any American woman who may 



94 A Looker On in London 

be sojourning in London, who brings credentials from 
American clubs to which she belongs. 

The Sesame club admits both men and women to mem- 
bership. Its rooms are in Westminster and it is especially 
interested in educational questions. It is distinctly liberal, 
with, perhaps, a touch of radicalism. Men and women, 
who compose both the officers and the committees, work 
together amicably and harmoniously. The Sesame club 
is in close proximity to the Alexandra club and the Prim- 
rose League. I received an invitation to be present at a 
meeting which was to be addressed by Mrs. Henry Nor- 
man, who is better known in the United States as Menie 
Muriel Dowie, the author of "A Girl in the Karpathians." 
Mrs. Norman's subject was very unlike her book, though 
it was characterized by the same wit and originality. She 
was a tall, slender and graceful woman, far more comely 
than the profile portrait that is familiar to the American 
reader. She has a keen sense of humor, and the entire ad- 
dress was brilliant and clever — a plea for simpler living. 
She advocated removal to the country, or to a suburb, 
where permanent residence in the country was impossible. 
She thought that it was much to be deplored that there 
were so many to whom even this compromise was neces- 
sary, but, since it was unavoidable, this class might be con- 
soled with the reflection that half a loaf was better than no 
bread. The speaker had evidently a warm regard for 
Americans and an admiration for the American way of 
living. She eulogized that fascinating if somewhat mis- 
leading work : "Ten Acres Enough" in which it was care- 
fully and accurately shown what profit might be derived 
from the cultivation of a small tract of land upon scientific 
principles. She rather ruefully admitted that another gen- 
tleman of urban prejudices and literary proclivities had 
also undertaken this sort of scientific agriculture and had 
set forth his experiences in a work entitled "Two Acres 



Women's Clubs 



95 



too Much." Nevertheless, she held firmly to the belief 
that the townsman might carry on a legitimate pursuit in 
the city and successfully unite with it the diversion of 
the gentleman farmer. She cited the case of a musical 
critic on one of the New York newspapers, a devoted 
disciple of Wagner, who, whatever his love for agricul- 
ture, was not willing to forego the opera. He combined 
both callings easily and profitably, did his work as an ac- 
complished critic and enjoyed in their season the fruits of 
his garden and orchard — delicious peaches and melons and 
tomatoes "of a freshness unknown to the green grocer." 
She commented forcibly on the market supplies furnished 
the residents of London — wilted cabbages, faded cauli- 
flower, vegetable marrow long past its prime ; neither ap- 
peals nor persuasion could move the green grocer to mend 
his ways, which were altogether bad. While excellent 
things were really grown — crisp cresses and lettuce, pota- 
toes worthy the name, they were not to be obtained by the 
London householder, except by visiting Covent Garden at 
three o'clock in the morning. She advocated a system of 
market-houses which she described, similar to those in 
many American cities, to which the housekeeper might be- 
take herself easily and conveniently and select her sup- 
plies. In connection with the market-house she suggested 
a refreshment-room or reception-room, where one might 
meet her friends and rest and solace herself with a little 
gossip over a cup of tea. This should be made so attrac- 
tive that the work of marketing for the family would be 
a pleasure instead of an irksome task. London society was 
described as a great conglomeration where no one had 
time for anything ; where it was impossible to become ac- 
quainted with one's friends or to meet people whom one 
wished to know ; to read the books one wished to read or 
carry out any rational plans. 

Friendship, as London society was then constituted and 



96 A Looker On in London 

conducted, consisted chiefly in writing notes to say how 
very sorry you were that you could not attend the delight- 
ful luncheon or dinner at which you were asked to meet 
some one whom it would be such a pleasure to know ; and 
in receiving regrets in the same tenor telling you that the 
friend with whom you were to have the long-planned talk 
over a matter of mutual interest would have to be excused. 
It was a breathless rush and an undignified scramble from 
one crowd to another — a proceeding of very little profit 
or benefit of any sort. She knew numbers of people who 
were going to re-read Thackeray and Dickens, but no one 
had ever accomplished it ; time was consumed by an end- 
less succession of "At Homes," dinners and balls at which 
people felt impelled to show themselves for no good or 
tangible reason. All these pleasant occupations were pos- 
sible in the country, reading the books one liked, doing 
the things one enjoyed, knowing one's neighbors and be- 
ing known by them. She admitted that some sacrifices 
must be made in migrating from the town to the country. 
Men, perhaps, would have to be content with smaller in- 
comes. Half the dissatisfaction with modern life grew 
out of the fixed determination to earn a certain sum — say 
five thousand a year, but to accomplish this a man sacri- 
ficed many things of far greater consequence than money. 
She thought it a truer philosophy to earn £1,000 a year 
in congenial employment which was in itself a pleasure, 
rather than to earn double the sum in a profession that 
was perpetual slavery or galling weariness. She recom- 
mended scientific dairying as a pursuit especially well 
adapted to gentlewomen. As an occupation she thought 
it far superior to teaching, even in the higher schools. 
The scientific dairy- woman might not earn more than £200 
where the teacher with extraordinary good fortune might 
be able to command £300 ; but she considered it better to 
earn £200 in such a beautiful and interesting pursuit as 



Women's Clubs 97 

dairying, than in one which was at best, precarious, where 
success depended largely upon favor, and in which there 
were innumerable trials and difficulties from which the 
dairy farmer was exempt. 

At this point I heard a little murmur of dissent from a 
plainly dressed girl who sat near me, and who remarked 
significantly that "dairy farmers also had their trials and 
difficulties; and that the cost of feeding, the accidents 
that could happen to cows, with the low price of dairy 
products, would have to be considered." 

The remark was made sotto voce and did not interrupt 
the speaker, who continued, emphatically declaring that the 
country was the proper place for children, and those were 
deeply to be pitied who had never known the freedom of 
country life, and had failed to acquire that knowledge 
which was to be gained only by a familiar acquaintance 
with fields and woods. She thought that the bicycle and 
railway train, with their rush and noise, fairly typical of 
modern city life. 

A discussion followed not less amusing and entertain- 
ing than Mrs. Norman's bright and unconventional talk. 
The first speaker did not agree with the rosy view of agri- 
cultural life which the speaker had taken. If one had a 
liking for society, he must be content for the greater part 
of the time with that of the village doctor, the apothecary, 
the Wesleyan clergyman or the ritualistic curate. Much of 
the pleasure and benefit of life in the metropolis was in 
the intellectual stimulus afforded by contact with superior 
minds; there only could the perfection of civilization 
be enjoyed — great pictures, the best music and the 
theatres. Mrs. Norman had admitted that the devotee of 
Wagner could not banish himself to regions beyond the 
possibility of hearing "The Flying Dutchman" and "Lo- 
hengrin." He himself had been born, reared and edu- 
cated in the country, and he frankly confessed that he was 



98 A Looker On in London 

never so miserable as when he was forced to return for 
an occasional holiday. He had noticed also that the chil- 
dren always came home from such excursions with colds, 
or measles or some infectious disease which they had en- 
tirely escaped in town. This forced him to remark that 
recent statistics showed London to be the most healthful 
part of the United Kingdom, its death rate being actually 
lower than that of the provinces. He thought that the 
dearth of wholesome amusement had much to do with the 
depopulation of the country, forcing young men and 
women to go to the city where this natural desire could 
be gratified, and where both amusement and congenial 
companionship were within reach of the poorest. For 
himself, he acknowledged that he found in the country no 
enjoyment equal to reading the pea-green pages of the 
Westminster Gazette in the dim light of an underground 
railway carriage, as he returned home from the city in the 
evening — a confession that caused much laughter. Mrs. 
Norman had criticized the evening papers — not neces- 
sarily the Westminster Gazette any more than the others, 
as one of the unavoidable evils of city life — a perfectly 
natural discrimination, the speaker thought, since she was 
connected, editorially and matrimonially, with one of the 
great morning dailies. Mrs. Norman thus arraigned 
smiled and shook her head once or twice in amiable pro- 
test. 

Another of the audience — a woman who, also, was not 
quite in sympathy with Mrs. Norman's views — told an 
amusing story of a Scotch gardener. She and a friend 
rode on their bicycles to a well known show place in the 
vicinity of London, famous for its magnificent gardens 
which the owner had generously thrown open to the pub- 
lic. As they walked through the fine shrubbery and along 
the well-kept borders, she heard a cuckoo calling — "alto- 
gether the most ecstatic and loud-voiced cuckoo that she 



Women's Clubs 99 

had ever heard," and she paused and called her friend's 
attention to it. 

The disgusted comment of the gardener was : "Humph ! 
We have too much of that sort of thing around here!" 
She thought this a good example of the appreciation of 
nature on the part of those who were forced to live in 
the country. The gardener disparaged everything, and if 
she admired a flower, or a rose of especial beauty, he 
would tell her that she should have seen some roses at the 
flower show which he had gone up to London to visit a 
few days before. She felt that he might be regarded as 
one of those typical countrymen who instinctively com- 
pare all rural institutions to the products of the town, a 
comparison she had observed which was always to the 
pronounced disadvantage of the country. 

Other charming and pertinent talk, pro and con, was 
followed by informal conversation in which all took part 
and during which Mrs. Norman received the warm con- 
gratulations of her friends. 



CHAPTER X 

women's schools and colleges 

(1896) 

There is a mistaken impression among Americans that 
the English girl is dull and awkward. Shy and silent she 
is apt to be until she is addressed by her elders. She does 
not volunteer her opinion very often, although she has 
opinions; but she habitually defers to superior age and 
wisdom. The English girl, ordinarily, is a most retiring 
creature ; plainly dressed, kept in the background, she is 
consequently spared aging prematurely and does not ac- 
quire precocity that would add nothing to her charm. 

Nevertheless, she is neither unobservant nor heedless; 
she is watchful and ready to do any little kindness, to 
render any unobtrusive attention ; your sofa pillow is ad- 
justed at a more comfortable angle; the foot stool is 
quietly slipped under your feet, the screen is placed be- 
fore the too fervid blaze ; the shade is quietly drawn and 
all these friendly offices are performd by the same deft 
hand — the little maiden who comes and goes as silently 
as a shadow. 

If you talk to the intelligent English school-girl you 
will find a characteristic thoroughness in all that she has 
acquired. You will discover that she is not only well 
read, but that she assimilates what she reads, and can 
criticize and weigh and compare with surprising judg- 
ment and accuracy. A little girl of sixteen sat by me one 
day at an informal luncheon ; her cheeks were as pink as a 
rose ; her clear skin showed the salutary effect of the cold 

100 



Women's Schools and Colleges 101 

bath and daily exercise. Her glossy hair was smoothly 
parted, a silky fringe softening the outlines of her brow, 
and the thick locks were braided and tied with a knot of 
ribbon, like a young child's; she wore a simple but per- 
fectly tidy gown of brown merino. She was not asked 
nor expected to join in the conversation, but her close at- 
tention made it very evident that she was listening with 
interest and with perfect comprehension to all that was 
said. Presently her mother remarked: 

"Ellen has just passed her exams, at Girton and we all 
feel very much relieved." And yet the little maid had 
given no hint of being other than almost a child not long 
liberated from the nursery. To use their own phrase the 
English girl always "goes in" for some especial study or 
accomplishment. Among well bred middle-class people 
she is taught the useful and practical household arts ; to 
make her own plain clothes, to darn and mend, and this 
acquired, the finer branches of needlework. She is also 
taught to cook and to keep accounts. This latter is con- 
sidered most essential, and the English girl is generally a 
very well trained accountant. It is undoubtedly this early 
teaching which makes many English women such thorough 
women of business. Carelessness, inaccuracy or igno- 
rance in the matter of expenditure they regard with about 
as much disapproval as we show toward insufficient 
knowledge of spelling or the multiplication table. 

Young girls of well-to-do families are usually skilled in 
all out-of-door sports, in tennis, golf and rowing, and now 
that they have overcome their prejudice against the wheel 
they have become admirable cyclists — having learned that 
they may venture forth unchaperoned and return un- 
hindered, in safety. The bicycle in England, as in the 
United States, is doing its salutary work in freeing young 
girls from needless convention, rendering them self-re- 
liant and independent, with no sacrifice of their modesty.' 



102 A Looker On in London 

There is, however, a very marked contrast, even under 
the new dispensation, between the status of the English 
and the American girl in the family. In the United 
States, in ninety-nine cases out of an hundred, it is the 
daughter for whom sacrifices are made, and economies 
practiced; it is the daughter who must be well dressed, 
well educated and, when it is possible, have, the advantage 
of travel. It is unquestionably the daughter who has an 
all-powerful influence over her father. The English parent 
says "my girls;" the American parent says "my daugh- 
ters" and the difference in the two terms tells the whole 
story. But American parents reason, and not without 
justice, since there is no entail upon the family estates, 
that it is far easier for the sons than for the daughters to 
earn a living, and it is a salutary training for young men 
to be thrown upon their own resources. For this reason 
sons and daughters usually inherit equally and where a 
discrimination has been made, it is apt to be made in favor 
of the daughter. The reverse is true in England and it is 
somewhat painful to note the subordinate place which the 
daughter takes in the English household, as compared to 
the sons ; how she fetches and carries and makes herself 
the willing servant of the lad fresh from Eton or Harrow, 
or the undergraduate coming home from Oxford or Cam- 
bridge for his holidays. It is not to be inferred from this 
that there is lack of affection for the girls in the family ; 
strong affection exists but it differs in kind, rather than 
in degree, from that which the American girl accepts as a 
matter of course, and which it often happens she does not 
value as she should. 

England has known the stress of hard times during 
the past ten years, and this, with her better and more 
practical training, has made the English girl of to-day 
restless under uncomfortable conditions which she feels 
confident that she has the brains and energy to improve. 



Women's Schools and Colleges 103 

In Great Britain, as in our own Eastern States, the female 
greatly exceeds the male population — the younger sons 
having emigrated to South Africa, to Canada, to India or 
to the Australian colonies. In large families it has be- 
come more and more difficult to provide for the daughters 
who remain at home, and for whom satisfactory marriages 
cannot be arranged, as might have been done once, when 
tastes and customs were simpler and less was demanded 
by society. English girls, therefore, like their American 
sisters, are becoming interested in the important question 
of earning a livelihood — a far more difficult matter in 
over-crowded England, where the inevitable disparity 
exists between the wages and salary of men and women 
engaged in the same pursuits, than in the United States. 
The employment of women in banks, in telegraph and 
post-offices has given employment to thousands ; stenog- 
raphy has furnished work to other thousands, and in 
London and the larger cities women have opened offices, 
occasionally employing a large force of assistants, and 
these have done extremely well. Women are also succeed- 
ing as physicians and dentists and the trained nurse is in 
demand, not only in all the hospitals, but in private fami- 
lies, even accompanying the army in its foreign campaigns 
— an important part of the surgeon's staff — and a contrast 
to the disfavor in which they are held by military authori- 
ties in the United States. 

Photography has been successfully studied and several 
of the most fashionable photographers in London are 
women — one at least of whom holds the royal warrant. 
Amateur photography is a favorite amusement and I have 
seen some collections that would have done credit to pro- 
fessional photographers of high repute. 

Educated English women are far greater lovers of 
nature than American women ; they not only have an ap- 
preciative affection for the fields and woods, but they 



104 A Looker On in London 

spend every available moment of the short summer out of 
doors. Many are accomplished botanists, and are as skill- 
ful with the brush and pencil as with the pen ; sketching 
in England seems to be regarded as necessary an accom- 
plishment as writing, and there are very few among the 
educated classes who do not sketch from life more or less 
cleverly. They take great pride in their herbariums; 
others study ornithology and make collections of eggs 
which they arrange and catalogue with great skill. 

I met at Birmingham a charming young girl who was 
devoting her spare time to the study of the butterflies of 
Great Britain. She had almost all the species, beautifully 
mounted, the work of her own skillful fingers. She told 
me, with much diffidence, that there was a delightful ex- 
citement in getting together such a collection. She had 
spent a part of the summer on the Yorkshire moors and 
said that she had chased butterflies with her net, scramb- 
ling over stones, through thickets of brake and heather, 
sometimes for miles. Her especial deed of prowess of 
which she was very proud, was the capture of two fine 
specimens of the "Purple Emperor." 

"These," she explained, "are very difficult to catch ; they 
live in the top of oak trees, but they can be tempted to 
come down by putting under the tree a mutton bone that 
has 'gone off' a little; they can smell it — their sense of 
smell is very keen — and then they come." 

She also confided to me that certain rare and beautiful 
moths could be taken after dark "by sprinkling the trunks 
of trees with beer and sugar." 

One of the most striking differences in the training of 
English and American girls is the active life of one as 
compared with the disposition of the other to remain in- 
doors. Our growing taste for athletics, however, is fast 
reforming the latter evil. But with the rich food and con- 
fectionery which very young American girls are per- 



Women's Schools and Colleges 105 

mitted to eat, their theatre and dancing parties, the hot- 
house air which they breathe, the premature appearance 
of the lover upon the scene, it is doubtful if they will ever 
acquire the ruggedness and simplicity of the English girl. 
It will be some years, even after golf and tennis shall have 
done their perfect work, before the American girl can 
rival in physical robustness her more symetrically devel- 
oped sister — a result to be desired where intellectual vigor 
and physical strength are equally balanced. 

While boys in England are sent to the great public 
schools, or to smaller and less expensive schools, girls 
are taught at home, or they, too, are sent to boarding 
school, either in England or on the continent. But the 
latter is not so common a custom as in the United States, 
and there are few colleges corresponding to those like 
Vassar or Bryn Mawr in the United States, in which the 
daughters of the wealthy are educated. Even in Girton, 
Newnham and Mary Somerville the daughters of families 
of high position are a very small minority. The standard 
schools corresponding to, though very unlike the public 
schools of this country, are patronized by the poorer 
classes only, and rarely, if ever, by persons who are at all 
able to pay tuition in private schools, or employ a tutor or 
governess. 

The difficulty of popularizing University training for 
girls amongst the wealthier class is incomprehensible to 
Americans, accustomed as they are to the patronage which 
their own higher institutions receive everywhere through- 
out their own country. It is all the more difficult to com- 
prehend since the life of both students and teachers at 
Newnham and Girton impresses the visitor as being almost 
an ideal one. For the young women in both colleges there 
is a judicious mixture of work and recreation, both of 
which are pursued with great diligence and enjoyment. 
It should be explained that the method of instruction dif- 



106 A Looker On in London 

fers wholly from the methods employed in our colleges, 
there being nothing that corresponds to our recitation 
system. Students ''read," that is, study in their rooms, 
or in rooms set apart for them, with the assistance of a 
"coach" or tutor; they attend lectures, and take notes, 
studying for themselves the subject which the lecturer pre- 
sents, the examination being the test of what has been 
acquired. Except for the law exacting residence at the 
University for a stated period, and the necessity of at- 
tending the lectures, a student might study elsewhere than 
at Oxford and Cambridge coming up only for examina- 
tion. 

Girton is two miles from Cambridge, a gradual ascent 
all the way, the stately buildings of the college crowning 
an eminence which commands an extensive view of the 
surrounding country. After one has left behind the nar- 
row, crooked streets of the old town, the road is bordered 
by green meadows and woodlands and at the time of my 
visit the eye was delighted with blossoming hedgerows 
and blooming gardens while the ear was enchanted with 
skylarks and singing thrushes. The outer gates stood 
open and I drove to the entrance alighting under the arch 
to ring the bell which was answered by a white-capped 
portress. I was shown into a large well-lighted, stone- 
paved hall, the arched ceiling supported by slender stone 
columns, two or three good pictures relieving the bare- 
ness of the grey walls ; a window commanded a view of a 
grassy tennis court, and as I waited groups of girls came 
and went talking and laughing gaily, though not noisily, 
the picture of radiant health. They seemed to be under no 
surveillance, and I first saw here that naturalness and 
freedom from petty restraint which is so apparent and so 
delightful at both Girton and Newnham. The students 
appeared to be much younger and less mature than those 
of our colleges, their short dresses and braided hair giv- 



Women's Schools and Colleges 107 

ing them an air of extreme girlishness. I was told, how- 
ever, that they were really older than pupils in similar 
schools in the United States, eighteen being the minimum 
age at which students can matriculate at Girton. Miss 
Welch, the Head Mistress, was engaged, but she sent one 
of her assistants to show me about, a clever and agreeable 
young woman who told me that she had studied three 
years at Bryn Mawr and the University of Chicago, where 
she had taken her degree. She spoke in the highest terms 
of both institutions, the opportunities which they offered 
to women and talked with much enthusiasm of the United 
States and the friends she had made while there. I was 
first shown the sitting-room of the Head Mistress which 
was beautifully furnished, filled with books, pictures, 
flower-laden tables, lounges and comfortable arm chairs. 
The students' rooms were like those in American col- 
leges — a sitting-room and bed-room in each suite and 
these, too, were well ventilated, well lighted and most 
cheerful and attractive, beautifully furnished, with flowers 
everywhere, on mantels, tables and window-sills ; plants 
growing thriftily in pots, bowls of roses and mignonette 
and single lilies in slender crystal vases. The individu- 
ality of the occupant was very apparent in the col- 
lection of tennis rackets, cyclists caps and photographs, 
but the poster craze had either passed, or had never 
reached Girton, and cotillion favors were not among the 
trophies that the American girl-student prizes and so 
lavishly displays. Near the head of each stairway, framed 
and glazed, was a collection of visiting cards each bearing 
the name of a student having an apartment in that es- 
pecial corridor. In the hall below, an automatic indica- 
tor showed whether the occupant of the apartment was 
"Out" or "In." The lecture rooms at Girton are very 
small compared to those in most American colleges and 
they are carpeted and furnished, though less ornamented, 



108 A Looker On in London 

quite like the sitting-rooms at Smith or Vassar. Around 
a large table in the middle of the floor sit probably half a 
dozen girls with the instructor at the head of the table; 
each student is supplied with pen, ink and paper and notes 
are taken as the lecturer proceeds. The quill, it may be 
said, has not yet been superseded by more modern inven- 
tions, either at Girton or Newnham. There is no royal road 
to success in any English school or University — and the 
student can make no progress and attain no honor which 
has not been faithfully earned by impartial marks, and it is 
this conscientiousness, both in achievement and award, 
that has made an English degree of such intrinsic value 
and such an honor to the man or woman upon whom it has 
been conferred. It is also one and the chief reason why 
its refusal is such a serious injustice in England — this 
and the fact that with many of the degrees at the English 
Universities go substantial scholarships worth several 
hundred pounds per annum. Not only are degrees re- 
fused, but the girl-students of Girton and Newnham are 
not permitted to wear the cap and gown, although the 
colleges are practically adjuncts of the University, the 
lectures and all the requirements being the same as in the 
older colleges. 

In the beautiful library, which was a large, well lighted 
room, a group of girls were gathered about a table busily 
making notes and turning over the pages of encyclopedias 
and lexicons. One or two glanced up as we entered, but 
they were all too much interested and occupied to be in- 
terrupted by the presence of chance visitors. The great 
dining-room looked out upon a broad lawn with borders 
of roses, lilies and honeysuckles which were in full 
bloom ; at one end of the hall was a "high table" — the old 
distinction which has never been adopted in the United 
States, and at which sits the Head Mistress and the resi- 
dent teachers. Breakfast was over and the maids were 



Women's Schools and Colleges 109 

preparing the tables for the one o'clock luncheon, but the 
cloth was still adorned with bowls of honeysuckles and 
pansies which had been gathered while they were yet wet 
with dew. The meals, both at Girton and Newnham, are 
served much earlier than in ordinary English households 
— breakfast being at eight, luncheon at one and dinner at 
half past six. The great dining-hall at Girton and the 
apartment of the Head Mistress are separated by a cor- 
ridor and may be thrown together when the student and 
Faculty are "At Home," the dining-hall being set apart 
for dancing to which it is admirably adapted. The labora- 
tory was small, but the students attend lectures in chemis- 
try among other branches, at the University lecture rooms 
at stated hours, those who choose to do so going to and 
fro in carriages. This single item of expense, I am told, 
amounted to something like £1,000 per annum. Each day 
a list of lectures, the hour, topic, name of the lecturer and 
the names of the students attending each lecture is posted 
in the lobby at the main entrance. 

Girton is surrounded by fine lawns, and beautiful shrub- 
bery with the most brilliant and luxuriant flowers at ev- 
ery turn. There were no set beds filled with stiff gerani- 
ums and foliage plants, but there were clumps of lilies, 
pansies and forget-me-nots — all the fragrant, old fashioned 
flowers planted together, but carefully tended and yet ap- 
parently growing at their own sweet will ; an extensive 
grass court and one gravel court of equal dimensions were 
provided for the tennis players, with roads for the cyclists, 
secluded walks for pedestrians, and sheltered nooks and 
shady seats for those who love a book and solitude. 

As I came away my guide showed me a "short cut" 
across the grounds — a narrow, shady alley with the la- 
burnums, lilacs and chestnuts meeting overhead and knit 
together by the wandering tendrils of the honeysuckle, 
and with borders of rainbow hued annuals all the way. 



no A Looker On in London 

Nowhere else in the world do the sweet old fashioned 
flowers bloom in such profusion and perfection as in Eng- 
land, and my recollections of Girton will always be asso- 
ciated with the fragrance of honeysuckles and roses. 

I had been invited to dine in hall at Newnham the same 
evening with one of the teachers. The college is within 
the boundaries of Cambridge, north of Selwyn College, 
and has accomodations for one hundred students, a similar 
number being in attendance at Girton, where it has been 
necessary to convert some of the lecture rooms into bed- 
rooms. Fortunately, although it was somewhat late, my 
hostess was still waiting for me, and she escorted me into 
the hall. It was a noble apartment probably one hundred 
feet in length by forty in width, with a decoration of deli- 
cate garlands and tracery. But as the arched ceiling was 
far beyond reach of the house-maid's brush it seemed 
miraculous that it could be kept so dazzlingly white; 
the wide lawns, the shrubbery screening the build- 
ing from the road and the clean electric light, how- 
ever, explained the absence of dust and soot. Over 
the platform set apart for "high table" hung fine portraits 
of Miss Clough, Professor Sidgewick, the founder of 
Newnham, and other of its benefactors. Dinner progressed 
with a buzz of conversation and it had all the gaiety and 
animation of a large and very congenial party. It was 
pleasant to perceive the comradeship between the young 
students and the teachers : there was nothing, on one hand, 
of the frigid and unbending attitude which sometimes 
characterizes the manner of the college professor, nor, on 
the other, any lack of deference and respect; there ap- 
peared to be between the students and teachers the best 
possible understanding, mutual interest and good will. At 
table, American co-educational and political institutions 
were discussed, many questions being asked and answered 
so far as I was able to answer them. It was admitted 



Women's Schools and Colleges 1 1 1 

that beginning without the trammels of tradition and 
custom, it was possible for co-educational universities to 
accomplish what could not be undertaken in England 
where there was yet great prejudice to overcome; much 
strength and time would yet have to be expended in op- 
posing obstacles which we had never known — means and 
energy diverted from practical undertakings. The ques- 
tion of residence had been one unsurmountable difficulty 
in the English plan of co-education, and there was a de- 
sire to know how this had been obviated. When it was ex- 
plained that there were separate halls on opposite sides 
of the quadrangle for the young women, quite removed 
from those occupied by men, that these halls were pre- 
sided over by women deans who were members of the 
faculty, and that all the amenities of a well-ordered home 
were preserved, it was acknowledged to be practicable 
enough — for Americans. 

While the dinner was not elaborate it was abundant 
and excellent; much better, candor compels me to state, 
than is ever served to women students in many of our own 
colleges. There was a nourishing soup — and English 
soup is always delicious — an excellent roast of mutton, 
roast fowl with bread sauce, vegetables and a tart. At the 
conclusion of the meal, which was eaten in the leisurely 
fashion which we have yet to learn, students and teachers 
rose and a short grace was said ; then the girls raced away 
to play tennis for the two remaining hours of daylight, or 
to ride their bicycles around the garden walks. 

After dinner I was shown over the college which, like 
Girton is modern, comfortable and, with its electric lights, 
bath rooms, supplies of hot and cold water was a contrast 
to the venerable colleges for men. The rooms for the stu- 
dents, however, are not en suite, as at Girton, and the 
rent is consequently less. All were tastefully furnished, 
however, with dainty modern furniture, the walls prettily 



ii2 A Looker On in London 

decorated, while the broad cushioned window seats were 
very attractive. There were the same small lecture rooms, 
as at Girton, and examinations being in progress many of 
the girls, instead of joining in the games, resumed their 
reading. When we returned to the Lady Principal's 
charming drawing-room I was introduced to a tall, 
slender, brown-eyed girl, very modest and shy, plainly 
dressed and in every way most unassuming. This was a 
no less personage than Phillipa Fawcett, the mathematical 
prodigy who had carried off the honors in 1890 and who 
should have been enjoying the fruits of her triumphs. 
When I told her what a furore her success had occasioned 
in America she cast down her eyes and said not a word ; 
she seemed at a loss even to realize that she had done any- 
thing very remarkable. Miss Fawcett held the position of 
instructor in mathematics — one which she has filled with 
great credit although still very young. The faculty of 
Newnham were hopeful that justice would finally be done 
the women graduates in the vexed question of conferring 
degrees; they did not think that the opponents of the 
movement represented public opinion; it was the senti- 
ment of the minority who, unfortunately, happened to be 
clothed with a little brief authority. After a look through 
the main corridor, we crossed the quadrangle to the li- 
brary which quite overflowed the quarters assigned it, a 
new building being then under consideration. Here also, 
a few of the more diligent students were at work making 
the most of the quiet and the freedom from interruption. 
"This is the drawing-room for the exclusive use of the 
teachers," said Miss Clough leading the way down a broad 
passage and opening a door. The room into which I was 
ushered was cheerful and attractive in the extreme ; flow- 
ers in bowls and vases had been placed wherever they 
could be bestowed, there was a rich fragrance of coffee, 
and the ladies helped themselves in the pleasant informal 



Women's Schools and Colleges 1 1 3 

English fashion, from a generous pot that was kept warm 
upon the hearth. I was introduced to Miss Clough's co- 
workers, many more questions concerning our schools 
were asked and answered. 

We were to attend a lecture at half past eight and as 
the time approached I said good-bye to Newnham very 
reluctantly, turning back for a parting look at the now de- 
serted gardens in which the thrushes were still singing. 
Lights were shining from the students' windows; they 
had betaken themselves to their work with as much earn- 
estness as they had shown in their recreation. 

It had been a glimpse of an ideal student's life, tran- 
quilly pursued in that atmosphere of learning, in the seclu- 
sion which earnest study demands, and I could not but re- 
flect that young women trained under such happy condi- 
tions must exercise a marked and important influence in 
the future affairs of England, either within their home, 
or in public life, as they themselves shall ordain. 



CHAPTER XI 

THE QUEEN'S BOUNTY 

(I8 9 6) 

We cannot pretend to understand holidays in America 
as they are understood in England. One would imagine 
that in the great commercial competition of a country so 
densely populated as England, and in a city so over- 
crowded with human beings as London, where it is so dif- 
ficult for the poor to live at all, the loss of one day's wages 
would be a very serious matter. Apparently it is not, and, 
consequently when the Easter holidays draw nigh, rich and 
poor prepare to take an outing. The streets are crowded 
with "four-wheelers," loaded on top with hat boxes, bags, 
dispatch boxes and steamer trunks, the luggage of those 
departing to join house parties in the country. Members 
of Parliament, gentlemen and ladies of leisure, with men 
eminent in the professions, artists and literary people, are 
among the favored guests, it being the ambition of the 
host that his company shall be as varied and as interest- 
ing as possible. A lesser tide flows town-ward — boys 
coming home from Eton and Harrow, and older youths, 
with their bicycles and fox terriers, from Oxford and 
Cambridge. These, too, have their luggage — the younger 
lads odd little boxes fastened with padlocks resembling 
small, square wooden bee-hives. Even the show of at- 
tractive and high-bred dogs chained up in front of the 
Army and Navy Stores, while their masters and mistresses 
shop within, is quite thinned out; Fido and Jack and 
Dandy having also been taken away for a "holiday," for 

114 



The Queen's Bounty 115 

no right-minded Englishman would dream of leaving his 
four-footed companion behind. 

Announcements are posted several days in advance that 
places will be closed "from Thursday evening until 
Tuesday morning for the Easter holidays," for while the 
English church people apparently do not take their re- 
ligion very seriously, even the Non-conformist tradesman 
would not think of transacting business on Good Friday. 
The day is universally observed, and London is as silent 
as it is on Sunday. This also means but one post Friday, 
Saturday and Monday; and the closing of district tele- 
graph offices, except for a stated hour in the forenoon, 
forcing one to go long distances to the larger offices like 
Charing Cross, in an emergency. 

Provident housewives lay in a supply of provisions, as 
if they were preparing for a siege, for the butchers and 
grocers also share in the Easter holiday. Nothing can be 
bought from Saturday noon until Tuesday, except the sup- 
plies of the peripatetic milkmen and fishmongers, upon 
whose fiendish howls not even Good Friday or Sunday 
has a quieting effect, and which death alone can silence. 

The English people irrespective of class generally ob- 
serve the Easter holidays. To the uninitiated they are an 
inconvenient interruption to ordinary life. Fortunately 
for the poor, thousands of places of cheap and harmless 
amusement are within reach, to which even the com- 
mon laborer can take "the missus" and the children. On 
Easter Monday there is a grand exodus of costermongers 
to Hampstead Heath. 'Arry and 'Arriet are there in force, 
both arrayed in their gayest finery and 'Arriet with a pink 
tissue paper plume added to the already too-profuse trim- 
ming of her hat; games are set on foot and much rough 
chaffing, loud singing and eating and drinking goes on 
throughout the day. 

On Good Friday the ceremony known as "Visiting the 



1 1 6 A Looker On in London 

Sepulcher" is observed with great solemnity in the Catho- 
lic churches. Prayers are offered at the high altar upon 
which the Host, consecrated by high mass, is exposed 
throughout the entire day and night until "the mass of 
the Pre-Sanctified" the following morning. The Sepul- 
cher at the Oratory in Brompton road — the most beauti- 
ful of modern Catholic churches in London, was in keep- 
ing with its noble surroundings ; the altar was banked with 
azaleas, hyacinths and spirea, which reached the lofty ceil- 
ing, and was screened on either side by flowing draperies 
of scarlet silk. The Farm street church, which the 
Catholic members of the Diplomatic Corps attend, was 
also beautifully dressed with flowers, and the titled ladies 
of the congregation, English and European alike, knelt in 
prayer before the altar, the worshippers relieving each 
other at intervals, until the hour for mass on Saturday. 

During the week I had the privilege of witnessing that 
singular historical ceremonial at Westminster Abbey, "the 
office of the Royal Maundy" — the survival of the ancient 
custom, still observed literally in Catholic countries, of 
Europe, washing the feet of the twelve poor people pub- 
licly by royalty, on Maundy Thursday. 

The last English sovereign to actually perform this of- 
fice was James II, whose personal piety, it must be ad- 
mitted, was not remarkable. Since then the custom has 
undergone many modifications, the most important of 
which is the substitution of an additional sum of money 
for provisions "formerly given in kind/' which is rather a 
vague phrase. The alms thus bestowed constitute "the 
Queen's Bounty," and the money is paid from the public 
purse. 

The beneficiaries were seventy-seven old men, and sev- 
enty-seven old women, corresponding to the number of 
years Her Majesty had lived. They had been selected 
from one hundred London parishes by the clergymen of 



The Queen's Bounty 117 

each parish and recommended by him to the Lord High 
Almoner. Those who had been fortunate enough to se- 
cure stalls in the choir, and in the few other places of the 
Abbey from which the ceremony could be seen, were ad- 
mitted as is customary, by card, at the door of the West 
Cloister. It was the first time during my sojourn in Eng- 
land that I had seen anything approaching unseemly el- 
bowing and scrambling; but what I experienced led me 
to conclude that our British cousins have latent powers 
in this direction quite equal to those of our own robust 
and heterogeneous population. There were, however, few 
adults in the congregation as compared to the number of 
young boys and young girls accompanied by their tutors 
and governesses. The crowd that collected in the cloister, 
impatiently waiting the opening of the doors, pushed and 
struggled, and called from the two policemen on duty mild 
and ineffectual remonstrances: "O, I say now lady, you 
must stand back and wait your turn;" "Stop pushing!" 
"Be patient, be patient!" By a little opportune parting 
of the throng I managed to slip through the narrow door- 
way with unbroken bones. In the nave were a number of 
Yeomen of the Guard in their historic uniform making a 
fine show of color in the semi-twilight. Within the choir, 
ranged in chairs just beyond the lower tier of stalls, were 
the seventy-seven "poor men" and seventy-seven "poor 
women," the two rows extending the entire length of the 
choir ; the men on one and the women on the other side, 
to the steps of the chancel, in front of which was a 
table draped in white, a reminder of the "fine linen towels" 
used in past years by the royal penitents. 

The beneficiaries were a sad and depressing company — 
all old, many of them blind and a few having terrible de- 
formities ; one aged man, feeble in mind, looked about him 
with dull indifference and babbled audibly through the 
prayers and anthems ; another who sat beside him and who 



1 1 8 A Looker On in London 

held his stick in hands that were gnarled and twisted with 
rheumatism, yawned enormously, with a weariness which 
he did not try to conceal, and let the staff fall with a re- 
sounding clatter on the pavement. At that, a black-robed 
verger approached the culprit, gravely whispered a few 
authoritative words in his ear, whereupon both offenders 
lapsed into dejected silence. The women were much more 
humble, and several of them seemed to have had acquaint- 
ances amongst the other "aged and meritorious persons ;" 
for, before the service began, they moved about freely 
and without any self-consciousness, exchanging greetings 
and shaking hands; one daring soul, a woman, even 
crossed to the men and unabashed, carried on a lengthy 
conversation with one who was especially hoary and 
weather beaten. 

While it was understood that all were people of good 
birth, few of them gave any external evidence of this; 
most of them, men and women alike, seemed to have been 
inheritors of toil and poverty from the cradle, laborers and 
paupers throughout their long, suffering lives; few even 
appeared to be very intelligent. There were three excep- 
tions — one man and two women; the man was tall, erect, 
with clear cut regular features, gray hair and moustache ; 
his skin had the clearness and his eye the brightness of 
intelligence and temperate living. He was well dressed, 
with white, new linen, a dark silk scarf with a jeweled pin 
and a seal ring upon the third finger of his smooth and 
well kept hands. He was not more than sixty years of age 
and had the appearance of a man in vigorous health. He 
held up his head as if his presence in that motley company, 
stared at curiously by the inquisitive, was nothing strange 
or uncommon. When the Hundredth Psalm was sung he 
reverently turned his face to the altar and sang with the 
choir and congregation in a voice of great sweetness and 
cultivation. He did not exhibit the slightest feeling of 



The Queen's Bounty 119 

embarrassment or humiliation, and, at first, I concluded 
he must be some one in authority who had accompanied 
the others and had been appointed to look after them ; this 
opinion was dispelled when he took his portion of the 
Royal bounty, bowed like any well-bred gentleman and 
said quite distinctly, "Thank you very much," as he might 
have addressed a bank clerk who had just cashed his 
check. 

Of the two women, one was tall, slight and as pale as 
death ; she, too, had an expression of marked refinement, 
but she seemed to feel deeply mortified and never once 
raised her eyes from the pavement. The other was a 
stout matronly person of fifty with her thick grey hair 
parted and prettily waved; she wore a becoming jet bon- 
net trimmed with black ostrich tips ; a fur trimmed man- 
tle, neat gloves and a new cashmere dress. She, however, 
accepted her lot with philosophic resignation and, appar- 
ently, was not discomfited, but she disappeared instantly 
after the recessional, and was seen no more. Beside her 
sat an aged crone, bent, withered and poorly clad ; she was 
half-blind and from her forehead grew a hideous excre- 
scence — a great, thick loop of purplish, calloused flesh. I 
saw her afterward hobbling away in her threadbare cloak, 
leaning on the arm of an emaciated, feeble boy, also poorly 
clad, who had waited for her outside the door. 

With the opening notes of the voluntary the visiting 
among the more sociable of the old women came to an 
end, and the men, with the exception of the irrepressible 
two, also ceased talking. Then the stately procession 
which had formed without in the nave marched slowly 
through the choir to the places assigned them. First came 
the beadle in black robes bearing the silver mace with the 
cross and coronet, the choristers and the gentlemen of 
the choir in their snow white surplices; clergymen in 
black gowns, representing the recipients of the Queen's 



120 A Looker On in London 

alms; the minor canon, the canon's verger, the canons, 
the sergeant major, a yeoman carrying the alms dish, 
Rev. Canon Eyton sub-almoner; the Rt. Rev. Lord 
A'lwyne Compton, Lord Bishop of Ely, Lord Almoner to 
the Queen ; the Bishop's chaplain, the deacon's verger, the 
children of the Royal Almonry — two boys and two girls ; 
the secretary of Her Majesty's Almonry and his as- 
sistant ; and last, the Yeomen of the Guard. 

The clergy and the four children of the Royal Almonry 
carried large bouquets of white, yellow and scarlet flowers 
that were typical of the sweet herbs used in the ceremo- 
nial during the Middle Ages; clergy and children also 
wore a very broad, white muslin scarf which crossed the 
shoulder and breast and passed around the waist, the 
wide ends falling to the knee. The Yeomen of the Guard 
wereinfulluniform,thelongscarletcoat profusely trimmed 
in gold braid, with the rose, thistle and shamrock em- 
broidered in silver on the breast ; breeches of scarlet fast- 
ened at the knee with gold buttons and ornamented with 
huge rosettes of scarlet, black and blue, scarlet hose, black 
velvet hat with loops of black, blue and scarlet ribbon 
around the crown, white ruff and gloves. Each carried a 
pike adorned with a heavy gold tassel. On the head of one 
of the Yeomen who appeared in the body of the procession 
was borne the great gold alms dish heaped with purses, 
three hundred and eight, red and white, with the long 
draw-strings of red and white ribbon falling gracefully in 
a deep, fringe around the edge of the plate ; in the center 
of the heap of purses were two silken bags which con- 
tained the portion of the bounty to be distributed first. The 
basin was deposited upon the white-draped table, after 
which the Lord High Almoner and the attendant clergy, 
passed to their places within the sacrarium, the children 
ranging themselves just without the railing, very quaint 
little figures in their white scarves with the red, white 



The Queen's Bounty 121 

and yellow flowers tightly grasped in their hands. The 
Dean of Westminster and the canons of the Abbey were 
seated in their purple-draped stalls at the rear of the 
choir, facing the altar; they, too, carried nosegays of 
white, yellow and scarlet flowers. 

The office began with the usual morning service, the 
congregation, including the beneficiaries, rising and 
standing through the processional. Then the Ninety-first 
Psalm was chanted by the choir : "Whoso Dwelleth under 
the Defense of the Most High Shall abide under the 
Shadow of the Almighty." The first lesson was from the 
gospel of St. John, chap, xiii: 1-16 which was followed 
by this special collect: "Lord Jesus Christ who, when 
about to institute the Holy Sacrament at thy last supper, 
didst wash the feet of thy apostles, teaching us by thy 
example the grace of humility, cleanse us we beseech thee 
from all filth of sin, that we may be partakers of the Holy 
Mysteries, who livest and reignest with the Father and 
the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end, Amen." 

The first anthem was : "Wash me thoroughly from my 
wickedness and cleanse me from my sin," and at its con- 
clusion the Lord High Almoner, followed by the assistant 
and the secretaries descended from the chancel and 
passed down the line of women distributed to them, then 
to the men, the first portion of "the Queen's bounty." 
There was for each woman £1, 5 shillings, and for each 
man £2, 5 shillings "in lieu of clothing formerly given !" 
The Lord High Almoner came first, behind him the as- 
sistant and the two secretaries carrying the silken bags 
which were filled with small envelopes containing money. 
These were passed, by the secretaries to the assistant, 
and from the assistant to the Lord High Almoner who 
placed them, one after the other, in the one hundred and 
fifty-four out-stretched hands. As he proceeded with the 



122 A Looker On in London 

ceremony the fine benevolent countenance of the Queen's 
Almoner took on an added expression of benignancy. 

It was interesting to witness how the dole was accepted 
by the different beneficiaries, the women who had re- 
ceived much the smaller share humbly courtesying, the 
men merely bowing and replying "Thank you," "Thank 
you very much," or "Very much obliged." Of course it 
was not to be expected that the sums given the men and 
women would be equal, and it was difficult to understand 
why the women who had received one-half the sum 
awarded the men should have been so much meeker in 
their acknowledgment, but so it was. As the envelopes 
were distributed the women recipients stowed them away 
in the pockets of their gowns, somewhat furtively and 
fumblingly, the men placing theirs in the breast pockets 
of their coats, in a most matter-of-fact, business-like man- 
ner. 

The first distribution being finished the procession 
which had passed down one line and up the other, re- 
turned from the chancel with the second portion of the 
bounty in the purses each containing "as many pence as 
the Queen is years of age and given in silver pennies, two 
pence, three pence, four pence and the balance of the 
Maundy amounting to one pound, ten shillings each." 
This was contained in the two purses fastened together, 
which were passed from the secretary to the assistant and 
from his assistant to the Lord High Almoner and distrib- 
uted as before. It was accepted with the customary cour- 
tesy by the women, and a bow and "thank you" by the men. 
This time there was no difference in the sums which they 
received, men and women, for once, faring alike. Then the 
Lord High Almoner and his assistants returned to the 
chancel; the Queen's bounty had been distributed. The 
services concluded with the anthem : "Blessed are the 
merciful for they shall obtain mercy," and "The King 



The Queen's Bounty 123 

shall Rejoice in thy Strength O Lord" — Handel's mag- 
nificent composition which was given with great power 
and sweetness. 

It was followed by this touching prayer for the Queen : 
"We thank Thee O Lord and praise thy name that thou 
hast not only bestowed greatness and majesty upon our 
Sovereign Lady, Queen Victoria, but hast given her a 
heart to show mercy to the poor and needy. Accept this 
tribute which she pays to Thee, the Giver of all good; 
and make her fruitful in these and all other good works 
that her throne may be established in mercy ; and stir up 
the hearts of all those who have now been a partaker of 
her bounty, to be truly thankful unto Thee for it, and to 
pray for her that she may have a long and prosperous 
reign in this world, and a heavenly kingdom in the world 
to come ; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen." 

There were two more prayers, the conclusion of the 
regular morning service, followed by the Hundredth 
Psalm, and last of all, "God Save the Queen." Then the 
Dean from his purp'le-draped stall, with his nosegay ly- 
ing on the desk before him, pronounced the benediction; 
the Lord High Almoner and his assistants followed by 
the choir marched into the nave and the Queen's bene- 
ficiaries straggled away and dispersed. The alms-giving 
over there seemed to be no one to look after them, and 
those who could see groped their way out and were 
joined by their poverty stricken kin, scantily clad and 
poorly fed, who were waiting to take them home. But it 
was pleasant to reflect that, whatever genuine and Christ- 
like humility the ceremony may have lacked, there were 
those who would feast for once, and have the luxury of 
warm clothing and other unaccustomed comforts, through 
the maintenance of an ancient custom which growing and 
antagonistic radicalism is doing its utmost to abolish, 
with nothing to offer the poor who have profited by it, aa 



124 A Looker On in London 

a substitute. Whatever there may have 'been of mere 
form, of spectacular ecclesiasticism, in the ceremonial, 
the Queen's pounds, shillings and pence were none the 
less real and efficacious in ministering to the needs of 
those who had that day received the dole. 



CHAPTER XII 

THE ANNUAL HABITATION OF THE PRIMROSE LEAGUE 

(I8 9 6) 

The chief interest, in the way of public meetings, the 
last week in April was the annual "Habitation of the 
Primrose League." The annual address was delivered 
Wednesday afternoon in the Covent Garden Opera House 
and the orator of the occasion was the Grand Master, the 
Most Honorable the Marquis of Salisbury. On the pre- 
vious evening a reception had been held at the Grafton 
Galleries, which was attended by representatives of the 
various auxiliary organizations throughout the kingdom, 
numbering several thousand. 

The Grand Habitation began at three o'clock, the doors 
being opened at 1 : 45 o'clock. Even at that early hour 
the line of carriages extended down Wellington street 
and far up the Strand ; the horses' heads were decorated 
with primroses and with yellow and purple ribbons; the 
lamps were filled with nosegays of the fragrant flowers, 
men wore them on their lapels, and maids and matrons 
carried bouquets and displayed them at their throats and 
on the corsage of their gowns. 

Nothing more brilliant could be imagined than the vast 
opera house itself, crowded from the stage to the topmost 
gallery; around the three tiers of boxes were ropes and 
garlands and festoons of primroses and the cushioned 
ledges were banked with them ; the great crystal chande- 
lier in the center of the dome and myriads of incandescent 
burners were a blaze of mellow light. 

125 



126 A Looker On in London 

In addition to the display of flowers, from nearly every 
box hung a splendid satin and gold or silver embroidered 
banner, each elaborately decorated and bearing the name 
and number of an organization. The boxes were filled 
with beautifully dressed women, the delegates from the 
various habitations, and upon the stage was seated a very 
distinguished company of men and women, evidently the 
officers of the various habitations. 

Among them, and the first of all, was Lord Salisbury, 
with Lord Poltimore, the Chancellor ; Mr. G. S. Lane- 
Fox, Vice Chancellor; the Marquis of Abergavenny, 
Grand Registrar; the Duke of Norfolk, Postmaster Gen- 
eral, and Viscount Curzon. 

The band sat beneath a sort of canopy above the re- 
served seats and proved to be rather unmanageable. 
Lord Salisbury arrived at a little past three, accompanied 
by his private secretary, the Hon. Schomberg K. McDar- 
nell; and this was the signal for a prolonged roar — very 
different from the American "three cheers/' As he took 
his seat the entire audience rose, and at the same moment 
three great torches flared up — a dazzling calcium light — 
like the flash of cannon ; this was the ubiquitous photog- 
rapher taking instantaneous photographs of distinguished 
gentlemen as they appeared upon the platform. It had, 
however, quite another and unanticipated effect, as if it 
were some very melodramatic and special recognition. 

There was a hitch in the beginning which would have 
hopelessly confused an American audience, but which this 
English assemblage accepted with a little good-natured 
laughter and their usual philosophic indifference. It had 
been arranged that the first and third verses of the na- 
tional anthem should be sung by Mme. Alice Gomez, a 
favorite London concert singer, the audience to repeat 
with her the last verse. The band struck up accordingly 
and played a few bars; nobody uttered a sound, and the 



Habitation of the Primrose League 1 27 

leader rapped with his baton, silencing the instruments, 
when there were excited shouts of "Go on, Go on." Thus 
encouraged they began again, and a few piping, treble 
voices joined, but it was some time before the audience 
recovered its presence of mind, so that only the last few 
lines were sung with anything like the proper spirit. 

The most impressive feature of this great meeting was 
the presence of hundreds of women, who were not there, 
as they would have been in a political meeting almost 
everywhere in the United States, on sufferance, and as a 
compliment to their negative "influence." They were a 
component part, a vital factor, in what to-day is one of 
the greatest political organizations in England; officers, 
delegates, equal in authority with the men. Fully a third 
of them — every woman householder — were entitled to 
vote at all except the parliamentary elections, and they 
constituted what Liberal and Conservatives alike recog- 
nized and, what is more, respected — an active political in- 
fluence which both parties were forced to accept as such. 
Lord Salisbury, Mr. Balfour, and other of the Conserva- 
tive leaders had advocated the extension of the Parlia- 
mentary franchise to women, and were, personally, con- 
fessed advocates of equal suffrage. 

The women of that great audience, while they were 
dignified and modest, and, above all, well-bred, showed 
by their manner that they realized their own political 
value ; and they proved, also, in a manner that might have 
reassured the most doubting and uncertain, that they had 
acquired their political power at no sacrifice of their 
womanliness and refinement. 

A statement was presented by Lord Poltimore which 
proved that the Primrose League, both financially and in 
point of membership, had enjoyed a year of phenomenal 
success. He announced that 60,000 new members had 
been added to the League and that thirty new habitations 



128 A Looker On in London 

had been formed, while it had been necessary to sub- 
divide many of the older ones, which had grown to un- 
wieldiness. 

The first prize banner, the reward of zeal and activity, 
was presented to the Elswick Habitation, Newcastle-on- 
Tyne, by the Countess of Ancaster, and was received by 
the secretary as its representative ; the second was given 
to the Harvey Habitation, Potton, Bedfordshire, and the 
third to St. George's, Hanover Square, and to Oldham, 
whose records in well-doing were equal. 

At the conclusion of the ceremony, Lady Ancaster was 
presented with a bouquet of lilies of the valley and roses, 
by Lord Salisbury, which she accepted with much grace. 

Lord Salisbury then rose, and was greeted with great 
applause and an especially blinding flash of the calcium 
light. He said that Lord Rosebery had reviewed the ad- 
ministration of the present government up to the present 
moment the evening before, arraigning the proposed edu- 
cational bill, which was designed to give voluntary, or 
church schools, state aid; the rating bill, the advance in 
the Soudan, and the South African imbroglio. 

The defensive is usually an easy position, and Lord 
Salisbury made the most of it, replying to the criticisms 
which had been unsparingly made. He was well worth 
studying — this big broad-chested descendant of the great 
Cecil of Elizabeth's court, who has all the physical vitality 
and intellectual force of the race from which he sprung. 
He had a heavy face, with a fringe of white hair, like a 
tonsure, and a short, grayish beard; an almost ungainly 
figure, and was slow and deliberate, even clumsy, in his 
movements; he had also, the sloping shoulders common 
to Englishmen, and which, but for his stout figure, would 
have given him an effeminate appearance. 

But he was a living refutation of a belief, firmly fixed 
in the American mind, that the English are not orators. 



Habitation of the Primrose League 129 

While his voice was neither loud nor deep, but, on the 
contrary, rather thin and soft, it had a remarkable carry- 
ing quality, and although many of his hearers were so 
far away that their features could not be distinguished 
from the stage, they applauded every point as enthusi- 
astically as those who sat about the Chancellor, and it 
could be seen from their close attention that they heard 
perfectly every word. His enunciation was finished and 
delightful ; he spoke with deliberation, but did not drawl, 
and he had, moreover, a personal magnetism that was 
somewhat unexpected. 

As for the address itself, it was a model of diplomatic 
evasion ; an illustration of that art of concealment which 
is usually ascribed to the language of diplomacy. At 
the same time, there was a frank confession of the un- 
certain tenure of Conservative rule, and an honest ad- 
mission that Conservative policy was to be tested to the 
utmost, with results that no one could forecast. 

He did not consider the growth of the Primrose League 
an electioneering accident, but asserted boldly that it rep- 
resented the introduction of a latent force into English 
politics which had not been utilized before, and said that 
it had largely brought into action the influence of many 
men who, otherwise, would not have devoted their efforts 
to the support of the country. It had knit together classes 
that had been separated, and whom it was the interest of 
agitators to keep apart; and it had brought into action 
for the support of the fundamental institutions of society 
those who were most deeply interested in them — namely, 
the women of England. 

"I am one of these/' he continued guardedly, "I speak 
only for myself individually — who are of the opinion that 
women have not the voice they ought to have in the selec- 
tion of the representatives of the kingdom ; but I warn 
you that there is no question at present which divides 



130 A Looker On in London 

parties more completely, and I am not certain even 
whether I express the opinion of the majority of my own 
party; but however that may be, whether they obtain or 
whether they do not obtain any formal share in directing 
the political course of this country, there can be no doubt 
that their action, through the machinery of the Primrose 
League, has largely modified the development of our po- 
litical history." This observation was received with ap- 
proving cries of "Hear, hear!" 

The action of the Primrose League, he continued, was 
the action of social influence — the influence of men and 
women on each other, and of men and women in society, 
meeting each other in private life. Hitherto political ac- 
tion had been largely the effect either of literary produc- 
tions or speeches on the platform. The great change 
which the last fifteen years had introduced was that po- 
litical opinions were advocated by those who believed in 
them, not in ostentatious ways, but in the quiet influence 
of private life. It was a powerful influence because it was 
multiplied in infinite proportions throughout the length 
and breadth of the land. This opinion was also warmly 
applauded. 

"And if I am not deceived by all the information that 
reaches me," he added, especially addressing his remarks 
to the women members, "it is this private, non-public in- 
fluence, this influence of mind on mind in conversation, 
and not in speeches, that has largely affected the constitu- 
encies in every part of the country during recent elections. 
It is an influence which is most valuable to maintain, 
because it is the influence of those who are most deeply 
interested in the steady and peaceful working of your 
institutions, but yet who are guided by none of the 
methods which lead agitators to disturb society. It is 
for you to cultivate this influence in the time that lies 
before you." 



Habitation of the Primrose League 131 

Of course, in this acknowledgment of the service 
which women had rendered the Conservative party, Lord 
Salisbury carefully kept his private convictions in the 
background, and so, virtually, advocated work of the 
bricks- without-straw description, just as our own Ameri- 
can politicians sanction women's political work without 
tangible reward; service that is willingly accepted, but 
which is never properly acknowledged. Still, there was a 
splendid confidence among the women which said plainly : 

"We have advanced thus far; we shall continue to 
progress and there shall be no retrogression." Whatever 
his lips might utter, they knew well the real convictions of 
their leader, and they trusted him. 

The speaker, continuing, said that the effects of the 
victory which had been achieved would be enduring. By 
that he did not mean that the majority or the ministry 
would be enduring, but that the striking effect, the 
permanent result, would be that each succeeding battle 
would be fought with an advantage not possessed before. 

There 'had been a clamor for the abolition of the House 
of Lords, induced 1 "by producing artificial subjects of 
discord," but when challenged on this distinct issue the 
country had replied by the largest majority which any 
government had received in the last half century. 

This assertion, the truth of which could not be con- 
troverted, was received with tremendous cheering and 
shouts of "Hear, hear !" 

He touched gingerly upon the education question, and 
here his non-committal attitude — the evasion of the diplo- 
mat — was especially marked. It is a question on both 
sides of the Atlantic which requires very delicate hand- 
ling, and in the general dissatisfaction of all except the 
Establishment was, at that time, as vexed a problem in 
England as it had been in the United States, wherever 
church influence has attempted to interfere. 



132 A Looker On in London 

The elections had determined, he said, that education 
should be religious; by which he meant, practically, that 
the parish schools controlled by priests and curates should 
be subsidized; but he added, and very wisely — judged 
from the standpoint of self-preservation — that he would 
not dwell upon it, though he deprecatd the Conservative 
belief that religion was no longer dear to the English peo- 
ple. He thought that the elections had shown that it had 
lost none of its hold upon the hearts of the nation. 

As to the rating bill, he regretted that he had not been 
able to do more for the relief of agricultural distress, but 
said that the navy had run away with most of their re- 
sources, and that they were arrested by the homely wis- 
dom of the proverb which says : "You must cut your coat 
according to your cloth." He declined to express an 
opinion upon the death sentence which had just been 
passed upon the Reform Committee in the Transvaal, but 
announced that as he entered the building a telegram had 
been placed in his hands informing him of the commuta- 
tion of the sentence. 

This was received with an outburst of enthusiasm and 
excitement, men and women springing to their feet, 
shouting and waving hats and handkerchiefs. 

His apologetic attitude on the Armenian question, 
which he approached with extreme caution and treated 
with marked reserve, was, nevertheless, an unequivocal 
denial of the personal responsibility of the Sultan, placing 
the blame upon irresponsible savage tribes, and very 
properly exonerating England because of her unwilling- 
ness to go to war with the whole of Europe. 

Of operations in the Soudan, he felt that there was a 
unanimity of opinion in England, and that the English 
were bound to relieve Egypt of the fearful curse of "sav- 
age incursion and domination which had been placed 
upon the people," a modest promise which has since been 



Habitation of the Primrose League i 3 3 

most brilliantly fulfilled. He said, however, that he did 
not wish to be misconstrued as foreshadowing^any imme- 
diate advance to the South, or any plan as to proposed 
military operations. 

The speech closed with a very eloquent exhortation to 
the Primrose League to continue in zeal and well-doing. 
One observation was well worth remembering, and this 
was his especial and urgent appeal for the United Habita- 
tions to labor for the promotion and establishment of pub- 
lic confidence, "By which alone/' he very truthfully 
added, "commerce and industry live." 

As the audience dispersed many stepped into the boxes, 
lingering a moment to admire the beautiful decorations ; 
some hundreds sought for the reviving tea in the ante- 
rooms, the line of carriages moved toward the porte 
cochfre at the entrance, and lords and gentlemen, titled 
dames and maidens took their places therein. 

The meeting had been characterized by the utmost dig- 
nity throughout ; there was sufficient enthusiasm without 
any hysterical demonstration, and, while the reports 
showed a very considerable gain in membership and ex- 
tended and successful work, there was no disposition to 
exult unduly or to exaggerate facts. Lord Salisbury's 
speech was straightforward, clear and succinct ; however, 
one might disagree with his views, one was forced to ad- 
mit his sincerity and his honest desire to do his duty in 
the high position to which he had been chosen ; an integ- 
rity of purpose that could not fail to inspire profound 
confidence. 



CHAPTER XIII 

IN KENTISH FIELDS 

May in England! It is an idyl of blooming hedge- 
rows, skylarks and nightingales. Surely nowhere in the 
world is grass so tenderly green, the elms so drooping 
and rounded, and the beeches with their moss-grown 
trunks so venerable and stately. 

After nearly a year's uninterrupted sojourn in London, 
I turned my back upon the noisy streets and went down 
to Kent for a breath of fresh air, to see the "green things 
growing." 

Ightham, near Wrotham, on the London and Dover 
railway had been selected as an ideal retreat for the holi- 
day, by a friend whose judgment I had ample reason to 
trust. It had been chosen as one of the few remaining 
English hamlets, ancient and unchanged, within little 
more than two hours journey from town. The route lay 
across the lovely Weald of Kent, and roofs and chimney- 
pots, terraces and crescents left behind, we were soon in 
a region of newly-ploughed fields of a rich red-brown 
tint in the May sunshine, of meadows against whose 
emerald background were studded myriads of buttercups 
and daisies — a cloud of snow and gold. Hills sloped to 
the horizon, crowned with plantations of fir, or hanging 
woods, and here and there the roofs of stately halls rose 
above the tree tops of their splendid parks. 

Presently we came into the region of hop-fields, the 
poles netted together with cords, and the young vines 
turning yellow from the drought which, in later years 

134 



In Kentish Fields 135 

has prevailed "in misty England," contrary to all tra- 
ditions. 

I was told that the hop vines require "tying three 
times ;" first, when they begin to climb, again when they 
attain a larger growth ; and last of all, when they reach 
up for the network of cords which furnishes a support 
for the ripening hops. All this gives the working people 
steady employment from April to October, since the fields 
are cleared ready for the spring planting before the winter 
sets in. The hop region of England is restricted to a com- 
paratively small area — the chalky soil of Kent being that 
in which the vine especially thrives. The oast houses at- 
tached to every rambling, red-roofed farm-house, in which 
the hops are cured, are a very picturesque feature in the 
landscape. They are low turrets with conical, peaked 
roofs, the peak crowned with a queer, pen-shaped ven- 
tilator which leans slightly forward and revolves with the 
shifting wind, like a weather-vane. 

From Wrotham to Ightham it is only a mile — a pleasant 
walk by smooth foot paths across the fields, if one rejects 
the stuffy and rumbling fly that is sent to Wrotham sta- 
tion for Ightham passengers. The name of the village is 
of Saxon origin — a corruption of "eight hamlets" of 
which the pretty village itself, Ivy Hatch, Burrough 
Green and Seven Oaks are the more important. 

If one does not prefer the inn which is much patronized 
by London cyclists, comfortable lodgings are to be had, 
with sitting-room, bed-room and fire, and this with good 
plain meals at a cost of about four shillings a day. My 
landlady was a most delightful and satisfactory charac- 
ter. She was dressed in decent black and a striking arti- 
cle of her attire was a huge belt-buckle suggestive of a 
Yeoman of the Guard; she wore, also, a remarkable cap 
and a bunch of stiff little curls over each ear that trem- 
bled constantly like spiral springs. I dubbed her forth- 



136 A Looker On in London 

with "the Goddess of Loquacity," and soon perceived 
that my conversation must be discreet and guarded, 
and confined, so far as was possible, to necessary ques- 
tions and instructions. With all her admirable qualities, 
industry, cheerfulness and sincere kindliness, she was one 
of those excellent English serving people who are at a 
loss to adapt themselves to Americans, the natives of a 
country where they have been told all social distinctions 
have been obliterated. In spite of manifest unwilling- 
ness, I was destined to acquire a great deal of undesired 
information concerning some score of lodgers who had 
preceded me, their faults and virtues, and their idiosyn- 
crasies, great and small — the majority of whom, I was 
assured, were gentlefolk. 

As soon as I arrived and had removed my bonnet and 
the dust of travel from my bands and face I had the in- 
evitable tea, as a matter of course — delicious tea and bread 
and butter. The table was decorated as if for a banquet, 
no less than five bouquets of cowslips ornamenting my 
solitary board. There were, in all, upon the table, mantel 
and piano, just fourteen ! The love of flowers is innate in 
the English character. Window-sills and gardens are a 
mass of geraniums, wall flowers, forget-me-nots, pansies 
and tulips, and the roughest carter wears a nosegay in 
his hat-band or button hole. The piano in my room de- 
served what exhibition committees term "honorable men- 
tion ;" it was unique, having seven legs, one on each cor- 
ner, two in front and one behind ; they were very slender 
and spindling, otherwise there would not have been room 
for so many. After tea I went out for a walk in the cool, 
soft air of the May evening. The one winding street 
through the sleepy village was bordered with enchant- 
ing picturesque cottages of brick or stone, with red-tiled, 
sagging roofs and many lattice-paned windows. One 
was an admirable example of the half-timbered house of 



In Kentish Fields 137 

the fifteenth century. As I passed, the casement stood 
ajar and the drawing-room, which was several feet below 
the level of the road, looked into a fine garden with noble 
trees, shaven lawn and blooming parterres. The old 
church upon the hill, with the grave stones Clustered un- 
der the shadow of its walls, the names and dates of many 
long obliterated, and with the starlings twittering about 
their nests in the tower, dated back to the twelfth century. 
Here, in a sheltered corner, lies buried Algernon Sartoris, 
and Adelaide Kemble Sartoris, the sister of Frances 
Kemble and the author of that enchanting book : "A week 
in a French Country House," a woman of genius and of 
many gifts of mind and graces of manner, like others of 
her family. I gathered a few buttercups and daisies near 
the head-stone to send to her friend, Harriet Hosmer, in 
America, from whom I had heard many interesting inci- 
dents of her brilliant career. 

Within the church itself is a portrait bust of Dame 
Dorothy Selby, the wife of Sir William Selby who oc- 
cupied the famous Tghtham Mote in 1591, and who, as is 
stated in a description by Major-General C. E. Luard, 
was "Mayor of Berwick and Knighted by King James at 
Berwick in 1603." Dame Dorothy is credited with hav- 
ing revealed the Gunpowder Plot to Lord Monteagle. If 
the work of the sculptor is true to life, Dame Selby was 
a thin-featured lady of much spirit and determination, 
and in cap and ruff seemed to look down upon the pres- 
ent generation with a certain disapproving and censorious 
air. 

Beyond the church was a grey old hall, with a clock in 
the tower whose measured chime sounded clear and dis- 
tinct across the fields where the shadows were lengthening 
toward the east. The ivy mantled house was hemmed in 
with dense woods, and rooks were wheeling and flutter- 
ing in the tree-tops, feeding their voracious young. The 



138 A Looker On in London 

fledgelings were as big and as black as the old birds and 
the poor parents seemed quite exhausted in their efforts 
to satisfy the lusty appetite of their brood. The young 
perched on the edge of the nest, spread their wings and 
opened their gaping mouths, their helplessness being very 
absurd contrasted with their size. The noise made by 
both parents and fledgelings was an odd mixture of notes 
resembling the plaintive bleating of young lambs and the 
cawing of crows. They were not quiet until it became 
quite dark, which, at that season, was not until half past 
nine o'clock. 

Some distance beyond the manor-house was a meadow 
filled with cowslips, and here I sat on the stile listening 
to all the country sounds to be heard at night-fall — the 
lowing of cows, the bleating of flocks, the faint barking 
of dogs from distant farms, the echo of voices, the whist- 
ling plough-boy, the singing milk-maid, laborers talking 
as they walked homeward along the quiet lanes, and with 
the troubled clamor of the rooks, thrushes and linnets 
were singing in the darkening copse. The west was rilled 
with fleecy clouds which stretched to the zenith and 
glowed with the fading radiance of the setting sun. As 
I strolled back to the village by the deserted road the pale 
stars came forth one by one. When I returned supper 
was ready. I asked Mrs. E — who owned the grey house 
with the clock tower and she replied, delighted to furnish 
information : 

"Oh ; our Lord of the Manor lives there — Col. J — . He 
is a very old man, now, and rarely comes down from Lon- 
don. He is here only a few days at a time; he does not 
stop long and the place is left in charge of the servants." 

I had been given a letter of introduction to Mr. Ben- 
jamin Harrison, a very interesting man, a tradesman, 
whose house adjoined my lodgings. He lived in the rear 
of his shop, a beautiful and interesting old house, with 



In Kentish Fields 



139 



oaken beams almost as black as ebony. He possessed a 
fund of knowledge, not only of science, but of English 
literature, which made him a very valuable and delight- 
ful acquaintance. As soon as I presented my letter I was 
kindly invited to make use of his garden and he shortly 
afterwards sent me several works on natural history and 
botany which he thought might be of service. While he 
was an accomplished naturalist, Mr. Harrison was espe- 
cially interested in geology and his discoveries relating to 
paleolithic man, in the chalk plateaus of Kent had made 
him well known to British ethnologists. His attention 
had been called to the discoveries in the valley of the 
Somme in France, and from similar peculiarities of the 
soil in Kent he argued the existence, at some remote 
period, of an unbroken continent of which both regions 
were a part. He believed that valuable discoveries might 
be made in Kent as well as in the Somme valley and after 
much laborious research in the adjacent gravel-beds he 
found what he believed were chips or splinters made by 
primeval man in the preparation of crude stone imple- 
ments. These implements were discovered later — the 
rudest possible specimen of the "draw-shave." Mr. Har- 
rison's collection, three years ago, numbered over 5,000 
specimens and the uniformity of shape, their adaptation to 
human use precluded any possibility of mere accidental 
resemblance to the work of prehistoric man. Mr. Har- 
rison, at that time, was endeavoring to prove his theory 
beyond question and, while his claims were rejected by 
many, they were respected by such authority as the late 
Sir Joseph Prestwich, General Pitt Rivers and Mr. Bal- 
four. 

The Kentish ethnologist is a member of many geologi- 
cal societies of consequence in England, and was consulted 
frequently by the authorities of various museums. One 
cf his collections, which is labeled and packed in numer- 



140 A Looker On in London 

ous boxes, is visited and examined almost every week in 
the year by scientific men from all parts of Great Britain. 
It has been the subject of discussion in the British scien- 
tific journals, carried on, pro and con, for some time with 
much vigor. There is very little doubt, in this age of 
easy research, but that Mr. Harrison will be able to pre- 
sent, finally, still more numerous and valuable proofs of 
the validity of an opinion for which he has been contend- 
ing with great perseverance for more than twenty years. 

The next morning after my arrival in Ightham I ex- 
plored the country in another direction and was delighted 
to find many of the familiar English flowers in the fields 
and under the hedgerows. There were stretches of blue- 
bells, a wild hyacinth which is as blue and fragrant as the 
cultivated variety, though the flower is much smaller; 
"the little speedwell's darling blue," beloved of Tenny- 
son; the cuckoo flower of Shakespeare, a species of 
cardamine concerning which there is a difference of opin- 
ion, but which was pointed out to me — a species of the 
cruciferse resembling the blossom of the radish; there 
were beds of anemones on their long slender stems tossing 
and bending in the wind, quite like the American varie- 
ties ; clusters of primroses making the ground bright like 
patches of sunshine in shady thickets; "Herb Robert," a 
crimson flower with a disagreeable odor, and the lovely, 
delicate stitchwort growing in a white-flecked tangle un- 
der the hedges. The broom 'was also in its glory, one of 
the most splendid of all the English wild flowers, its 
winged clusters the most vivid and intense yellow, with 
an etherial, faint perfume. I gathered quantities of all 
these, and Mrs. E — was to arrange them. When they 
were placed upon the mantel and the breakfast table I 
missed the broom and made inquiries concerning it ; Mrs. 
E — replied : "O Miss ! I didn't bring it into the house ; it's 
such bad luck." And there it lay, as I soon discovered, 



In Kentish Fields 141 

beside the door, quite withered, all because of its unde- 
served bad character. 

The black-thorn was past its bloom, and the hawthorn, 
white and rose colored, was only beginning to bud. Along 
the hillsides were heavy growths of young chestnuts 
which are cut down once in seven years to furnish the 
poles for the hop fields. In these leafy coverts the 
cuckoos were calling each other— the jocund voice of 
spring itself. The skylarks of Shelly and of the Ettrick 
Shepherd were soaring heavenward, singing as they 
soared, or lost in the misty blue were sending down show- 
ers of silvery notes, a delight to the ear and to the heart. 
Blackbirds, small creatures entirely unlike our own which 
resemble the English rook— were whistling on the bough ; 
the purple black swift was darting across the millpond 
uttering its keen, musical cry, while finches and linnets 
were busy at their nests. All this stir and animation in 
the bird world recalled the story of the boy philanthropist 
in my old school reader, the lad distressed that the 
fleeces of the sheep should be so cruelly torn on the thorns 
by the wayside, and who was afterwards taken to the spot 
by his father at sunrise and there beheld the bird house- 
builders carefully gleaning the bushes of every shred. 

In the evening we took a walk across the pine woods to 
see the remains of a Roman fortification — part of it arti- 
ficial, and a part the escarpment of natural rock — the hill- 
side, as Nature had shaped it, and which must have 
rendered it almost impregnable. It was overgrown with 
trees, among which were a group of magnificent beeches, 
their trunks thickly grown with moss, their long boughs 
sweeping almost to the ground. Another object of the 
walk was to hear the nightingale which v:zs then nest- 
ing. In this we were fortunately and richly rewarded. 
I had read John Burroughs "Quest of the Nightingale" 
and had deeply sympathized with him in his inability to 



142 A Looker On in London 

find it after protracted search "in the next parish," will- 
ing and waiting to celebrate its fame, with all the genius 
of the poet and naturalist who knew and loved birds. 

It prefers low, thickly wooded land near a body of 
water, and its sojourn in England does not extend much 
beyond the time when the brood is fledged. It is gone 
by the middle of June, and by this time, too, the cuckoo 
is silent, and the voices that filled the copse and hedge- 
rows in May are faint and subdued. We walked for some 
time just after sunset and then, when the dusk began to 
gather, the nightingales began the indescribable "glug, 
glug, glug," answering and calling one another frorn the 
thickets. To hear the nightingale for the first time is a 
sensation never to be forgotten. It is a note so rich and 
thrilling that the heart is stirred with emotion, and a 
thousand memories interwoven with myth and poetry 
come thronging to the mind. 

The birds could not be seen, hiding themselves securely 
from sight, yet having no fear as we approached, con- 
tinuing to sing unhindered as we peered through the 
boughs in a vain endeavor to discover where they were 
concealed. The song of the nightingale is a medley of 
many notes — of our robin, cat-bird and thrush, the plain- 
tive warble with which the robin is thought to prophecy 
the coming of rain, the fuller notes of the thrush and the 
liquid and musical song of the cat-bird. I was told that, 
later in the season, when the young must be provided 
for, its notes become more melancholy, the inevitable con- 
sequence of family cares, in bird and man alike. The air 
was filled with the fragrance of apple orchards which 
covered the slopes, pink with blossoms, among the farms. 
We came down a steep, stony path out of the woods, 
the nightingales still singing entrancingly, into the 
"Seven Vents" — a point from which seven roads diverge 
in as many directions, and then proceeded across the 



In Kentish Fields 143 

fields to a farm house to pay an evening visit. A com- 
pany of neighbors were playing whist in the farm-house 
parlor, but we were cordially invited to come in and were 
told that the mistress of the house was in the kitchen 
with the maids superintending the weekly bread-making. 
It was thought that this, a familiar operation in all Ameri- 
can households, might be interesting, and, as we were un- 
willing to interrupt the game, we were conducted to the 
kitchen and there met the house-wife in her black silk 
gown and lace cap watching the sifting of flour and the 
"setting" of sponge. The visit was not considered in the 
least inopportune, and our cheerful hostess was neither 
embarrassed nor disturbed, and with one watchful eye 
upon red-armed Phyllis, asked many questions as to the 
respective merits of English and American bread-making, 
upon which, so far as the latter was concerned, I was 
able to speak with the. authority of practical knowl- 
edge. Then we said good night, promising to come again, 
and so turned homeward, retracing our way across the 
fields in the dim starlight, through the garden, where wall- 
flowers and mignonette, steeped in dew were scattering 
their fragrance in the fresh night wind. I had been in- 
vited to come back to supper with my friends and we 
made our way into the dining-room through the stone- 
flagged kitchen hung with shining utensils arranged in 
rows above the wainscoting — such a kitchen as any right- 
minded American would covet with a keen un-Christian 
envy. The supper was set forth upon the board when we 
arrived — a substantial and essentially English repast of 
cold mutton, brawn, salad, ale, bread and cheese. The 
fresh air had given us sharp appetites, and it was a feast 
for a king. 

The last day of this Kentish outing was devoted to 
seeing Ightham Mote, one of few old moated manor- 
houses remaining in England. It lay beyond the hills, a 



144 A Looker on in London 

mile and a half from the village, in a vale deeply embow- 
ered in trees. Part of the picturesque old structure dated 
back to the year 1180, the chapel, its ceiling decorated 
with faded coats of arms and which contained one of the 
oldest pipe organs in England, had been built during the 
reign of Henry VIII. Ightham Mote, is entered through 
a gateway by the court; this is enclosed by the walls of 
the stables where 180 horses were once kept, by the offi- 
ces, and by one wall of the old house itself. The visitor 
crosses the drawbridge and rings a bell whose clamor 
sounds harsh and loud in the stillness. The moat, which 
is deep and clear, surrounds the house, and is fed by a 
stream which skirts the bowling green along a yew 
hedge, then disappears, re-appearing and falling, a foam- 
ing cascade into the moat below. Fat lazy carp "bearded 
like a pard," of ancient lineage and high degree, swam 
lazily to and fro; their ancestors had been conveniently 
caught by gentlemen anglers through the casements of the 
Mote.> We were first shown into the dining hall, the 
lofty ceiling crossed with beams of oak, the wainscoting 
hung with fine tapestry. A fire was burning in the huge 
chimney-place, for the house was occupied by a Scotch 
family who admitted the public one day in the week. A 
few years before, in restoring the dining hall, a cell was 
discovered behind the wainscoting in which was found the 
perfectly preserved skeleton of a woman. The maid threw 
back a hinged panel which formed the door and showed us 
the narrow space, now a closet for brooms and brushes, 
evidences of a prosaic and utilitarian age whose energies 
are largely directed against the suppression of moth and 
rust, and in which rivalry and intrigue and family feuds 
are discreetly hushed up or referred to the divorce court. 
In the drawing-room there was an example of what 
we were told was the first wall paper imported into Eng- 
land from China — a pattern of tropical vines and birds 



In Kentish Fields 145 

which had been so cunningly restored that the original 
could not be distinguished from the copy. 

A child was practicing five-finger exercises on the 
grand piano as we left the chapel, but when we entered 
the drawing-room it was empty, child and governess hav- 
ing disappeared. The custom of exhibiting private 
houses at six pence or a shilling for each visitor, while 
it is one by which the public profit richly, seems extremely 
odd and much at variance with the English love of pri- 
vacy. The fees usually go to the servants or the hos- 
pitals, and, aside from this benevolent aspect of the prac- 
tice, it is certainly a privilege to be able to see these his- 
toric houses upon any terms ; one has a feeling of grati- 
tude to those who, for so small a consideration, which 
probably is demanded only to keep out the idle and the 
lawless, are willing to throw open their doors at frequent 
intervals to the ubiquitous "tripper." 



CHAPTER XIV 

HENLEY 

A great event like the Derby, Ascot or the Henley re- 
gatta, makes a very appreciable difference in the London 
streets. On the two great race days, there is scarcely a 
cab left on the accustomed stands, the parks are com- 
paratively deserted, the sidewalks are empty and few buy- 
ers are to be seen in the shops. 

Henley, which is an hour and a half from London by 
rail, is less accessible and, consequently, the great mass of 
spectators is not so democratic as that which assembles 
at the Derby, while there is not even the fringe of "dos- 
sers" haunting the outskirts of the crowd, as at Ascot. 
But any one who makes the least pretension to fashion 
and social position, 'with the unclassified hundreds whose 
business calls them there, and foreigners always inter- 
ested in studying the customs of the country, muster 
along the waterside at Henley. 

Our party, numbering twelve, took possession of a 
railway carriage in the window of which was posted the 
notice: "Reserved." It would have been uncomfortably 
crowded at any time but on that day of burning heat it 
was only the general amiability of the party determined to 
make the best of everything, that kept the situation from 
becoming unbearable. The crowd at the station was 
enormous, made up of bankers and brokers, guardsmen, 
members of Parliament, Oxford and Cambridge under- 
graduates, with school boys from Eton and Harrow, their 
gay hat bands designating the club, school or college to 

146 



Henley 1 47 

which they belonged; there were young girls indiffer- 
ently chaperoned — for the chaperones were too much 
diverted themselves to be very vigilant duennas, ladies 
of the beau monde, charming in costumes of white mus- 
lin with white sailor hats, white gloves, shoes and para- 
sols. This seemed to be the prevailing fashion, while 
men properly dressed for the occasion were in spotless 
flannels, canvas shoes, straw hats with bright scarves and 
sashes. As Americans, our party were deeply interested 
in the Yale crew which, that year, made the famous race 
with the Leanders — the picked men of various Cambridge 
crews. As soon as we were settled for the journey, one 
patriotic dame produced several yards of dark blue rib- 
bon, the Yale color, which was cut into lengths twisted 
into knots and distributed, to be worn upon the lapel of 
the coat or the bosom of the gown, according to the sex 
of the wearer. Several displayed knots of red, white and 
blue, with small American flags. The start was from 
Paddington and we soon left the smoky town behind and 
were steaming swiftly between hedgerows, fields and 
green paddocks, cheered by the lovely landscape, with its 
comfortable farmhouses and sleepy villages. The rail- 
way embankment upon either side of the line was car- 
peted with daisies and blue with cornflowers, while the 
yellow wheat fields were ablaze with scarlet poppies. 
When we crossed the Thames — miles from the end of our 
journey — the river was already alive with craft ; boats of 
every description, canoes, launches, punts, all crowded 
with men in fresh flannels and women in pretty summer 
costumes, making their way up to Henley, many prefer- 
ring this mode of transit to the train, and with little won- 
der. Here and there house-boats began to appear, a few 
at first, and then in greater numbers. They were an- 
chored along the shore, the upper deck shaded by canvas 
awnings, while below were what, in a house-boat, corre- 



148 A Looker On in London 

sponds to dining and drawing-rooms and bed chambers. 
Each boat was a blooming garden bordered above and 
below with pink hydrangeas, marguerites, geraniums, 
heliotrope and trailing vines that made a thick fringe 
which swayed in the breeze. They quadrupled near the 
racing grounds where they were anchored so close to- 
gether that one could almost sltep from one deck to an- 
other. Each boat was peopled with gay house-parties 
and graceful figures flitted to and fro, and from behind 
vines and flowers came the strum of the banjo, with the 
tinkle of the mandolin and piano. 

The country around Henley is very beautiful. It can 
be readily understood why the lucky owner of a house- 
boat on the Thames, or his fortunate guest, hies himself 
away so joyously for the "Saturday to Monday" visit 
which takes him away from the noise and smoke of Lon- 
don, to this region of softly-rounded hills and verdant 
meadows. The rich fields were planted in grain wnich 
was ripening in the summer sun, and others were fra- 
grant with grass and clover. On what is called "the tow- 
path side" were fine hills heavily wooded, with tall pines 
rising above the brighter greenery of elms and oaks. 
Through shady vistas were glimpses of hall and manor- 
house, with their stretches of velvet lawns, and luxuriant 
shrubbery. Beyond the starting point the slope was a 
mass of scarlet poppies bordered by close-clipped hedges. 

When we reached Henley innumerable vehicles were 
waiting at the station to be hired by the ordinary visitor ; 
and coaches with their sleek thoroughbreds, glittering 
harness, smart grooms and coachmen, with huge hampers 
of luncheon, for the wearers of purple and fine linen. 
It was still a mile and a half further on, and scores of 
stalwart young men set out on foot to follow the paths 
across the fields. We had a big lumbering break, a groom 
whose nose reminded one of a painstakingly colored 



Henley 149 

meerschaum, with a difference in the hue, for the nose 
was a fine crimson deepening into purple. Our point of 
vantage was an enclosure adjacent to the Lion Meadow 
and here we alighted, tied on the oval white badges that 
entitled us to enter the reserved space, thence to a sway- 
ing raft carpeted with crimson, furnished with wicker 
chairs and where we were thoughtfully supplied with 
Japanese fans. Amongst our neighbors were scores of 
Americans all displaying national colors and the dark 
blue badge of Yale ; a few had pennons of the latter hue 
bearing a large conspicuous "Y" in white, and similar 
pennons, with American flags, decorated many of the 
punts and canoes. Nothing could have exceeded the bril- 
liancy of the scene. Along the banks of the river were 
house-boats, as far as the eye could reach, while the sur- 
face was crowded with smaller craft and from most of 
them fluttered the colors of some club, school or college. 
The dress of the men and women produced a general ef- 
fect of dazzling white, with dashes of pale blue, pink, and 
green. In the meadow at the back of our enclosure was 
a marquee under which tables were spread, as splendid 
in their display of damask, glass and silver as a dining- 
room at the Metropole or the Langham. There were 
smaller tents for those who preferred to sit in the 
shade, and, in the very center of the space, still another 
from which a good orchestra, with its harp, cellos and 
violins discoursed sweet music throughout the day. 

As one o'clock approached, the hour fixed for the con- 
test between the English and American crews, the crowd 
suddenly and very perceptibly increased — great as it had 
been before. Among the moving boats appeared numer- 
ous craft containing minstrels in strange disguise; one 
was a masked company in Japanese costume playing upon 
mandolins which incongruously accompanied popular 
music-hall ditties. One boat contained a small, portable 



150 A Looker On in London 

piano, with a man playing upon a flute and two women 
upon guitars, under a large awning upon which was in- 
scribed the legend "Drummond Castle Relief Fund" — the 
"Drummond Castle" having been wrecked a short time 
before. The women had concealed their faces with an os- 
tentation of modesty which their rouged cheeks and brist- 
ling "fringes" hardly bore out; nor did it require much 
imagination to understand to whose needs, really, the 
funds which they collected would be applied. During the 
race the awning of this boat obstructed the view and there 
were entreating cries of "Take down your awning ;" "Do 
take down that awning," which the man with the flute, 
who was out of reach, heard unmoved. There was very 
outspoken lack of faith in the Drummond Castle philan- 
thropists, and the obstructing awning intensified and con- 
firmed this distrust. 

Among those who were rowing were many women who 
handled the oars extremely well; an eight-oared gig, 
which was probably the most remarked and which cast 
all the other boats quite in the shade, had an entire crew 
of women. A medley of conversation went on all around 
us, the reminiscences and observations of my own coun- 
trymen being especially audible. Among them was a 
man, connected with the South African diamond mines, 
who said 'that he had lived in California, had gone from 
there to Kimberly and had just arrived in England. At 
the time of the Transvaal difficulties, he had been ar- 
rested, tried and fined £200 for the part he had taken in 
supporting the cause of the Uitlanders. He said : "I paid 
my fine and then lit out," adding: "I wanted a vacation, 
anyhow." 

While this narrative was being related, bells were ring- 
ing violently along the course and presently the little boat 
of the Thames Conservancy came steaming down* the 
river, smaller boats clearing the way, right and left, leav- 



Henley 1 5 1 

ing the course unobstructed. After another snort interval 
a gun was fired, and as the smoke rolled away among the 
hills, the first race of the day began — 'the diamond sculls. 
The single oar race did not create much excitement, the 
chief interest being centered in the college crews, espe- 
cially those of New College, Oxford and Trinity Hall, 
Cambridge. The former was a famous crew, one of the 
best in either University, or in England. As they swept 
past a deafening shout greeted them, with cries of "Well 
rowed" from the occupants of the house-boats, and the 
punts and canoes, which had been cleared from the mid- 
dle of the river and huddled together along the banks in 
front of the house-boats as tightly as they could be 
wedged. To these shouts of approval and encourage- 
ment were added the cries of men racing madly along 
the tow-path, trying to keep abreast of the contesting 
crews. At the end of this race in which New College 
won by a length and a quarter, our party decided to 
forego the next race and have luncheon, before that be- 
tween the Yale and Leander crews came off. We were 
seated ait two small tables in the marquee and feasted our 
eyes first, before helping ourselves to the food that had 
been provided with the customary English lavishness. 
There was a noble salmon in a bed of crisp lettuce 
adorned with sliced cucumbers, lobster salad, roast fowls, 
tongue and lamb with its attendant mint sauce, veal pate, 
meat pie, tarts, strawberries in baskets lined with their 
dark leaves, ices, coffee, claret and champagne. The cof- 
fee, as usual, was the only thing in this lengthy and 
elaborate menu that was not perfect of its kind, and an 
untoward accident had made it even worse than the ordi- 
nary British variety of the beverage. It had been pre- 
pared in the village and brought out to the luncheon tent, 
and at some stage of its preparation the contents of a 
vinegar cruet had been emptied into the pot. A little 



152 A Looker On in London 

altercation, most polite and subdued, occurred between 
our waiter and his rival at the adjacent table over a water 
jug, of which each endeavored to take forcible possession 
at the same time. The head waiter was called upon to 
arbitrate, but as there was some complication in the dis- 
pute that placed it beyond his jurisdiction, he refused to 
interfere. Finally, our waiter secured the coveted utensil 
and triumphantly placed it in front of one of the ladies 
at table and earnestly besought her not to surrender it 
"on any account as he shouldn't be able to get it back 
again." 

When we returned to our places on the raft the crowd 
passed description and the heat had become almost intol- 
erable. Every vestige of breeze had died away and the 
sky was covered with a dull haze that increased the burn- 
ing temperature. The excitement, although it did not 
manifest itself in superfluous noise, was nevertheless in- 
tense, and Yale pennons and American flags were thicker 
than before. We were just opposite the half mile post and 
here, as the rival boats shot past us, the Yale crew were 
already a length behind. Their rapid, nervous stroke, like 
the quick movement of an automatic piston-rod contrasted 
strikingly with the long sweep of the oars, the steady de- 
liberate rowing of the Englishmen. They were deeply 
flushed, perspiring and excited, while the Leander crew 
seemed cool and composed, both mentally and physically. 
Past the half mile post the Yale crew made a spurt and 
shot ahead again, but it was only a temporary advantage 
and was of no avail. At the end of the race one or two 
of the crew collapsed and were carried into the boat-house 
where they were cared for by their generous rivals, who 
forgot their triumph in ministering to the needs of the 
exhausted Americans. Had Yale won, it is difficult to 
guess what their enthusiastic country-people would have 
done ; they were ready for any demonstration that could 



Henley 1 5 3 

have been made an expression of personal and national 
pride. As it was, their disappointment was plainly ap- 
parent; the Yale pennons drooped and the result was re- 
ceived in silence or with disconsolate and sighing "Oh's !" 

When the umpire's boat, which had followed the racing 
crew's, returned with the Leander's time — seven minutes 
and fourteen seconds — the figures conspicuously dis- 
played, were read by gloomy and dejected partisans of 
Yale, and there were passionate exclamations of "Too 
bad! too bad!" 

The English accepted the Leander's triumph with de- 
lightful modesty, and with very little display of feeling; 
there was nothing that approached guying or taunting the 
defeated crew who, it was acknowledged rowed gallantly, 
making a fine race, "giving the Leanders all that they 
could do," as the English themselves admitted. 

The Yale men and their friends, in turn, notwithstand- 
ing their keen disappointment, took their defeat in good 
spirit. They acknowledged that it was a fair and honora- 
ble defeat, and there was no whining and no inventing 
excuses for a result which, they frankly admitted, was 
wholly due to the skill and training of the victors. This 
straightforwardness not only won for them hundreds of 
friends, but did much to promote friendliness and good 
will between English and American sportsmen. It was 
stated that one cause which reacted disastrously with the 
Yale crew was a decision to change the stroke three days 
prior to the race — a statement which, however, was not 
corroborated. To the unenlightened observer, it seemed 
hardly possible, from the first, that there could be any 
hope of success with the rapid exhausting stroke which 
the Yale men employed, against the uniform and delib- 
erate stroke of the English crew. The latter reminded 
one of the even, swinging tread of a horse that apparently 
does ndt get over the ground very rapidly and that yet 



154 A Looker On in London 

sets one down at the journey's end before it is dreamed 
that it is half accomplished. The order that had been ob- 
served throughout the day was admirable, apparently 
maintained by common consent and without a vestige of 
coercion. The race must have been witnessed by one hun- 
dred thousand people, or more, and yet there was not a 
policeman to be seen anywhere except on the boat flying 
the flag of the Thames Conservancy, and their office was 
simply 'to clear the course and order all obstructing craft 
behind the piles. There was no drunkenness, no ill tem- 
per, no brawling ; everybody was good natured, and cour- 
tesy was universal. 

When our boat collided with other boats there were ex- 
clamations of "look out for your oar," and we were pa- 
tiently helped to free ourselves from the entanglement 
Which caused not the slightest impatience. The only ex- 
ception to the prevalent moderation was the inevitable 
cabman who wished to charge us "ten and six" ($2.62) 
each to drive us back to the railway station. This would 
have been extortionate in New York, and in England it 
was so excessive that it was absurd. But even here, fair 
play finally prevailed, and a fellow cabby gladly took the 
contract at "one and six" each, so that we went up to town 
with no consciousness that we had been defrauded, re- 
gretting only that we could not have assisted in the tri- 
umph of our countrymen, who though cast down, were 
by no means forsaken. For during the remainder of their 
sojourn in London they were made the special recipients 
of many social honors, the distinguished guests at dinners 
and garden parties and this, if it did not reconcile, did 
much to console them. 



CHAPTER XV 

THE PRINCESS MAUDES WEDDING 

(I8 9 6) 

After many months of preparation the wedding of the 
Princess Maud, the youngest daughter of the Prince and 
Princess of Wales was solemnized, Wednesday, July 22. 
For a week preceding the event, London had been visited 
with a brief season of intensely hot weather. The streets, 
shops and parks were empty and people either rushed out 
into the country or remained within doors in their town 
houses. There is something peculiarly oppressive in Lon- 
don heat ; it is muggy and steamy, frequently with a yel- 
low-grey haze over the sky which is like a molten lid above 
the simmering earth. Although the mercury rarely ever 
touches the altitudes which it reaches in our American 
dog-days, yet it is much more enervating because of the 
greater humidity. 

Tuesday, the day preceding the wedding, was the hot- 
test day of the year, but notwithstanding this, fashionable 
folk came flocking back from their cool retreats, and Pic- 
cadilly was once more thronged with carriages. The club 
windows were crowded with parties of on-lookers, but 
everybody seemed dull and tired. I had engaged a win- 
dow in Piccadilly which I shared with a friend and was 
told by the care-taker that the procession would pass 
about half past twelve. I was also assured that coffee, tea, 
bread and butter and sandwiches could be procured, and 
everything would be arranged with a view to securing the 
greatest comfort and convenience. This gratifying infor- 

*55 



156 A Looker On in London 

mation was given before the bargain was concluded. The 
prices asked for the lower windows were extortionate — a 
premonition of the Jubilee the following year; — two, 
three and even four guineas for a single place. I had ob- 
served that the supply far exceeded the demand up to that 
hour, but supposed that people were merely a little slow 
in concluding their bargains. Early Wednesday morning 
I set out with my friend from her house in Hampstead to 
the scene of the fete. After a week of blank stagnation 
the street was once more packed, and trains crowded with 
passengers arriving from every direction over the count- 
less suburban roads, constantly swelled the throng. 

As we left Finchley Road station the carriages were 
filled with men, women and children in holiday spirits 
and arrayed in their best clothes. At Baker street the 
station platforms were still more uncomfortably thronged, 
and omnibuses loaded inside and out left every second for 
Piccadilly where the passengers were deposited. Our 
route lay through Oxford and along Bond street, and 
from there we walked to our destination. Below St. 
James street the sidewalks were comparatively free. Even 
at that late hour, for it was then half past ten, the decora- 
tions were not all completed and preparations were still 
going forward; carpenters were sawing and hammering, 
putting up rough seats, and florists were arranging 
wreaths and plants and suspending baskets filled with 
vines from windows and balconies, and servants in the 
clubs were putting the finishing touches to festoons and 
drapery. It seemed surprising that the decorations were 
not more general, but they were confined to a very small 
area, chiefly along Pall Mall in the region of the clubs, 
in St. James, Piccadilly from the Circus to the foot of 
Constitution hill, and in the vicinity of Buckingham pal- 
ace. There was little or nothing along Regent or Oxford 
streets ; the government buildings did not display an inch 



The Princess Maud's Wedding 157 

of bunting, but stood grim and unashamed of their dingi- 
ness. The royal standard floated over the parliament 
buildings instead of the ordinary English flag, and 'it was 
the only hint given in this quarter that a royal wedding 
was in progress. Many shops displaying the royal war- 
rant were as apathetic as the government, and furnishers 
and artisans to "H. R. H." were apparently indifferent 
and unresponsive. The decorations displayed were in no 
way very remarkable. The high wall on the Piccadilly 
side of Devonshire House was simply hung with lengths 
of crimson cloth, while several of the Piccadilly clubs imi- 
tated this simplicity of design. At the head of St. James 
street were three tall Venetian masts wreathed in garlands 
of green and decorated with red and white roses, like Eliza- 
bethan May poles ; from these, red and blue ribbons flut- 
tered gaily, and from a line across the street hung a rich 
banner of dark blue satin, gold fringed with the motto in 
gold letters "May you be happy all your life." 

The lamp posts were banked with flowers — roses, ferns 
and smilax surmounted by English, American and Danish 
flags, the American flag on the left — another evidence of 
national good will — balancing the English flag on the 
right. Indeed, American flags were used almost every- 
where in great profusion. There were two, six feet or 
more in length, with English flags of the same size in St. 
James street, under which the bridal cortege was to pass. 
At regular intervals down this street also, were structures 
resembling small Gothic temples, their pillars and arches 
covered thickly with flowers, surmounted by three plumes 
— the crest of the Prince of Wales in carnations, or by 
the royal coronet in yellow. The initials "M." and "C" 
were also profusely displayed, white on a blue ground, or 
white and scarlet and yellow contrasted with blue, the let- 
ters arranged singly or intertwined in a monogram. The 
walls of one club were veiled in pale green and yellow 



158 A Looker On in London 

muslin, with additional decorations of white flowers and 
green vines; windows and doors were outlined in small 
flags, which were also clustered above the cornices and 
capitals. The entire effect, however, was not very pleas- 
ing or striking, there being a noticeable lack of grace 
and originality. Being much too early and not wishing 
to wait at our post until the procession arrived, we called 
a cab and drove down St. James street to Marlborough 
House along Pall Mall and back to Piccadilly. At Marl- 
borough House a detail of policemen had been stationed 
on both sides of the street, about six feet apart, but they 
did not display their truncheons, and in their smart uni- 
forms and white gloves were the mildest and most amiable 
representatives of the law that I had ever seen. Here and 
there, at the upper and rear windows of Marlborough 
House, the faces of servants could be seen pressed against 
the panes, under-footmen and housemaids, reminding one 
of the faces in the background of Hogarth's pictures. 
Over the gate a platform had been erected, and here seats 
had been placed for the officials of the household, and 
their friends. 

A temporary balcony opposite, from which floated their 
flag, was occupied by a party of gaily dressed Americans 
who had for their neighbors dark-skinned natives of India 
with whom they fraternized as they never would have 
done with the scarcely darker-skinned negro of their na- 
tive land. Many people drove about in their carriages 
looking at the banners and flowers and arches, while 
scores of the very poor went on foot — costermongers in 
corduroy with a following of children and the "missus" 
in a shapeless bonnet and trailing gown. It was interest- 
ing and pleasant to notice the self-respecting independence 
of these humble folk; they were neither noisy nor intru- 
sive, and while they retained a certain hereditary rever- 
ence for the classes above them, at the same time their 



The Princess Maud's Wedding 159 

attitude was without servility and they were allowed to 
do as they liked within the sacred confines of the Green 
park which, that day, was the brownest of brown parks, 
after weeks of drought. All sorts of contrivances had 
been devised, to be rented at a few pence, upon which 
people might stand and look over the heads of the crowd 
along the curbstone. There were packing boxes, impro- 
vised four-legged stools, rickety chairs, aged and infirm, 
and rough benches. In the course of the day one of these 
benches collapsed under the weight of ten people, two of 
whom were removed to the hospital, one with a broken 
arm and another with a dislocated knee. At the foot of 
the streets opening into Piccadilly and the more crowded 
thoroughfare, detachments of the uniformed St. John's 
ambulance corps had been stationed with supplies of 
stretchers, bandages, and restoratives in readiness for im- 
mediate relief; but happily, comparatively few accidents 
occurred. 

After looking at the decorations we returned and took 
the seats at our window which commanded a good view 
of Constitution hill, and found, by this time, that the curb- 
stones were we'll lined, all the chairs and benches occu- 
pied, and many were refreshing themselves with luncheon. 
Venders were going up and down shouting "'Eres yor 
'fishal progrime. ,, These were of various kinds; some 
printed on thick card-board, others on ordinary paper or 
on Japanese paper with bright red or green borders. The 
latter were recommended as suitable "to take 'ome to the 
children." After we were seated at our airy post we were 
told that we might have chairs at a window on the lower 
floor which had remained unsold. But we preferred the 
seclusion of our own place, which we had to ourselves. 
A white-capped, white-aproned maid came presently with 
a plate of very uninviting fruit which was offered to us 
for a shilling and was afterward reduced to a sixpence. 



160 A Looker On in London 

This we declined and when we asked for the promised 
tea and coffee we were told that "they had been disap- 
pointed." This probably meant that there were not people 
enough in the building to make it worth while to provide 
these luxuries; the cheese, biscuits and mineral water 
which were substituted, however, proved sufficient. As 
we ate and drank, a state carriage drove by with its coach- 
man and footman in plush and powder ; and, occasionally, 
there was a clatter of hoofs as a detachment of Life 
Guards in their gold and scarlet uniform cantered toward 
Buckingham Palace. Companies of police were stationed 
along the curbstone as in Pall Mall, and finally their chief 
arrived, mounted on a spirited charger, in full uniform 
with plumed chapeau, and rode slowly up and down the 
line inspecting the men. After he and his aides had de- 
parted, there was a jingle of copper, shouts of laughter 
and much good humored commotion ; a favorite diversion 
had begun ; men in the club windows where they sat sur- 
. rounded by bevies of women in splendid Parisian toilettes, 
were tossing out pennies to be scrambled for by the crowd 
below. The scramble for the money did not confine itself 
to the children; older people took part in it — dreadful 
wrecks of men with swollen, purple faces, broken boots 
and filthy tattered clothes; and impudent brazen women 
sodden with gin, who scuffled and fought and rolled over 
in the dust. One or two of the women were decently 
dressed, but they, too, shouted with laughter, wrestled and 
struggled and screamed like furies. Attracted by the up- 
roar the chief came riding back and sternly commanded 
the police to put a stop to the disturbance, which, for a 
few seconds they endeavored to do; then the tumult be- 
gan again and continued until the procession was in sight. 
The people were not actually violating any law, and- con- 
sequently could not be "given in charge." At three 
o'clock the Queen's trumpeters rode slowly up Piccadilly 



The Princess Maud's Wedding 161 

in their splendid uniform stiff with gold lace, and kettle 
drums and trumpets from which depended richly em- 
broidered banners ; the wedding was over, and then came 
the procession returning from Buckingham Palace to 
Marlborough House, a pageant which was both brief and 
disappointing, with few soldiers and no music, not even 
the beating of drums. First the bride and groom ap- 
peared in one of the gilded state carriages, with the 
Queen's monogram "V. R." in huge letters on the panel, 
the hammer cloth of silk heavily fringed and embroidered 
in gold ; the coachman and the three footmen in the royal 
livery, scarlet and gold, with inharmonious pink silk stock- 
ings, buckled shoes and velvet caps, and nosegays in their 
buttonholes. All that could be seen of the bride from our 
elevated station was a billowy heap of satin wedding- 
gown, and a passing glimpse of a bridal bouquet, veil and 
tiara; the groom in his simple naval uniform was quite 
extinguished by the shimmering folds of his bride's finery ; 
a detachment of mounted troops, preceded the carriage 
of the Prince and Princess of Wales. The royal mother- 
in-law was in a gown of pale gray silk with a sparkling 
tiara of diamonds; the Prince of Wales in full uniform, 
carried his gloves and shako in his hand. In the car- 
riages that followed, each with its attendant guard, were 
the Duke and Duchess of York, the Duke and Duchess of 
Fife, the Princess Victoria and the crown Prince and 
Princess of Denmark. There was not much enthusiasm 
as the procession passed, popular demonstration being 
confined to waving of handkerchiefs and a discreet clap- 
ping of hands. On all sides the people said disappoint- 
edly; "It was nothing, compared to the Duke of York's 
wedding;" the splendors of which they had evidently ex- 
pected to see repeated. After the bride and groom had re- 
turned to Marlborough House the lookers-on in that vi- 
cinity remained to see them set out to the railway station 



1 62 A Looker On in London 

— to which they were conveyed in an open landau, the 
bride having changed her splendid satin gown for a sim- 
ple and tasteful travelling dress. It was some time before 
the crowds in Piccadilly finally dispersed, and at various 
points they formed a solid and immovable body. We 
were an hour in walking less than half a mile, moving 
inch by inch, in a mass of humanity from which it would 
have been impossible to escape had a panic ensued. At 
times we were carried along by sheer force, propelled by 
the slowly-moving crowd, and it was easy to realize what 
crushing and stifling would have ensued had it been ex- 
cited or hurried; as it was, the people were extremely 
patient and good-natured, waiting their chance to move on 
as space was made for them, and without pushing or 
struggling. When we finally emerged at Bond street, 
somewhat disheveled and breathless, we agreed that there 
were far more satisfying pleasures in this transitory world 
than seeing, or trying to see, a royal wedding procession. 



CHAPTER XVI 

THE DEATH OF THE PRINCE OF BATTENBERG 

(l8 9 6) 

In November, 1895, it became necessary to dispatch an 
expedition under Sir Francis Scott to the Gold coast to 
quell permanently disorders which had prevailed in Ashan- 
tee for more than twenty years. King Prempeh, a cruel 
and superstitious savage, in spite of the protest of the 
British and other authorities, continued to make raids 
upon neighboring tribes, carrying into captivity, or as vic- 
tims for sacrifice, natives who desired peace, who wished 
to work and whose labor was necessary in the develop- 
ment of the rich tracts which were being opened up by 
the Gold Coast Company. 

This colony, in establishing peace and by promoting 
prosperity, had protected the lives of defenseless tribes 
and had added incalculably to the wealth and security of 
the people themselves. The main reasons for the expedi- 
tion have been thus briefly summed up by Major R. S. S. 
Baden-Powell, 13th Hussars, commanding the Native 

levy : 

"To put an end to human sacrifice. To put a stop to 

slave trading and raiding. 

"To secure peace and security for the neighboring 

tribes. 

"To settle the country and protect the development of 

trade. 

"To get up the balance of the war indemnity." 
In a treaty negotiated in 1874, the King had promised 

163 



164 A Looker On in London 

to discontinue the sacrifices but, as Major Baden-Powell 
has stated, notwithstanding this treaty the cruel custom 
continued "at the rate of some 3,000 per annum." A 
promise had also been made to keep the high-road open 
from Kumasi to Cape Coast Castle, for the benefit of 
trade carried on with the natives beyond the forests in the 
Hinterland. "The road," says Major Baden-Powell, "was 
allowed to become overgrown again with the rank, thick 
jungle of the bush and the slight foot track to which it 
dwindled was used by a few small bands of rubber dealers, 
but these traded at great risk and for small returns, owing 
to the heavy dues and peremptory punishment imposed by 
the Ashantees on traders passing through their country." 

An indemnity of 50,000 ounces of gold had been de- 
manded by Sir Garnet Wolseley, who commanded the ex- 
pedition which it became necessary to send out in 1872 to 
quell the difficulties between the Fantis and Ashantees, in 
which the British of the colony became involved and in 
which a number of Europeans had been captured and de- 
tained as prisoners. This indemnity had not been paid 
and in the interval 2,000 men of a neighboring tribe had 
been seized and beheaded. 

The expedition left England November 8th on the 
"Coromandel" reaching Cape Coast Castle, December 13. 

Among the first to volunteer was Prince Henry of Bat- 
tenberg and Prince Alexander of Teck. From the mo- 
ment he announced his intention of joining the expedition, 
Prince Henry was condemned by the Radical press in the 
most outrageous manner ; he was charged with intruding 
himself into affairs where his presence was undesired and 
would prove inconvenient and embarrassing, and where, 
through his alliance with the Royal family, he would be 
given precedence, standing between officers who had seen 
long and honorable service and who had bravely and 
faithfully won promotion. None of these charges were 



Death of the Prince of Battenberg 165 

verified and would not have been, even had the unfortu- 
nate Prince survived the campaign. After landing at Cape 
Coast Castle he accompanied the advance body of Sir 
Thomas Scott's troops in the march upon Kumasi, 
through regions abounding in swamps and infected with 
deadly malaria. He was almost immediately seized with 
fever of a virulent type and was sent back to the coast ac- 
companied by Surgeon Captain Hilliard, with whom he 
embarked upon the "Blonde," to return to England. The 
Prince after an apparent rally grew worse and died on 
Monday evening, January 20. The ship put back to Sierra 
Leone, where the sad news was telegraphed to England, 
and then proceeded on her way to Madeira where the body 
was embalmed, and continuing the voyage, the vessel 
reached Plymouth early in February. 

When the full particulars were ascertained it was 
learned that, instead of asking or expecting special con- 
sideration, Prince Henry had uncomplainingly borne his 
share of hardships, and refused as long as possible to ad- 
mit that his condition was serious, and only consented to 
be sent to the rear when he perceived that, in his critical 
condition, he had become a source of anxiety to his com- 
rades. As the fever developed the Queen and the Princess 
Beatrice were informed by frequent telegrams as to his 
condition, but no especial alarm was felt. Suddenly at 
noon on the 20th of January, it was learned that the fever 
had proved fatal, and that the body would be brought 
home for burial at once. 

The telegrams had been received in London too late for 
the morning papers, and I was driving along Pimlico road 
with an English friend when we caught sight of the bul- 
letins at the news stands which announced simply : "The 
death of the Prince of Battenberg." It was a great shock 
and the good woman seized my arm with a distressed ex- 
clamation and burst into tears, and more or less emotion 



1 66 A Looker On in London 

was shown by people everywhere, which it would be dif- 
ficult for a foreigner to comprehend who knew nothing of 
the deep and sincere affection of the English people for 
the Queen and her family. 

By a very painful coincidence the newspaper which had 
been most unsparing in its censure of the Prince when he 
volunteered for service in West Africa, in its issue of that 
day continued the attack, and appearing simultaneously 
with the tidings of his death the public sense of propriety 
and decency was greatly outraged. When the illness of the 
Prince was first announced, the consequences of his pos- 
sible death — a contingency that was regarded as extremery 
improbable — had been reviewed with unfeeling irritability. 
The sorrow of the Queen and the widowed Princess in 
such an event had been passed over; but the results of 
plunging the court into mourning at the beginning of the 
season, the interruption of social affairs and the conse- 
quent loss to tradesmen, were carefully pointed out. 

As a palliation of this indecent and ill-timed censure 
there was afterwards a disposition, even more offensive, 
in the direction of extravagant praise. 

The sermons on the Sunday following commemorated 
the virtues with which Prince Henry had been abundantly 
endowed, and the Queen and the bereaved Princess were 
sympathetically remembered in the prayers of both Non- 
conformists and Churchmen. In his review of the life 
that had come to so untimely an end the Archdeacon of 
London truthfully said of the Prince: "One could hardly 
be without faults, but no breath of rumor had tarnished 
his good name among the people." The greatest defect 
with which he had been charged was a certain arrogance 
of manner which possibly may have been occasioned by 
his peculiar position at court, which no one seemed dis- 
posed to envy. 

For several days prior to the arrival of the "Blonde" 



Death of the Prince of Battenberg 167 

with the body, there was some uneasiness as to whether 
court mourning would be ordered and as to the duration of 
the period of public mourning. The law of precedence 
was appealed to, the archives were diligently searched, 
and it was discovered that, at the death of the Grand Duke 
of Hesse in 1892, the court had gone into mourning for 
one month and eleven days, but there was no public 
mourning. This, accordingly, was accepted as a pre- 
cedent and public mourning was dispensed with, but as 
the dead Prince had been a member of the Queen's im- 
mediate family, the court went into mourning for thirty 
days, many quite outside of its exclusive circle following 
the royal example. On Tuesday the streets were filled 
with people clad in black, women in black gowns, bonnets 
and veils, men in black coats and trousers and displaying 
bands of crepe upon the sleeve. Loyal drapers filled 
their shop windows with black dress materials, gloves, 
ribbons and black-bordered handkerchiefs, mourning hats 
and bonnets. Flags were displayed at half-mast on public 
buildings and churches; invitations were cancelled and 
the theatres throughout the week were empty. It was 
learned that the Prince had requested to be buried at 
Whippingham in the Isle of Wight, rather than among 
the royal dead at Windsor, and preparations were made 
to carry out his wishes. Both the Queen and the Princess 
Beatrice were overwhelmed with grief, but both exercised 
that admirable self-control which is so conspicuous a trait 
in the Queen's character and which her children so largely 
inherit. 

Upon being embalmed, the body had been placed in a 
lead coffin, which was enclosed in an outer one of oak, 
procured in Madeira, and it had lain in state on the deck of 
the "Blonde" throughout the voyage home. At Plymouth 
the coffin was transferred to the cruiser "Blenheim" and 
^conveyed to Osborne. 



1 68 A Looker On in London 

While the obsequies were being conducted at Whip- 
pingham amidst the booming of cannon and the strains of 
military dirges, that held in Westminster Abbey by com- 
mand of the Queen was scarcely less solemn and impres- 
sive. The church at Whippingham was so small that only 
the members of the royal family, attaches of the court and 
representatives of the various European sovereigns were 
present. The services at Westminster, therefore, were at- 
tended by the officials of the Queen's household, and that 
of the Prince of Wales, Lord Salisbury, the Ministry and 
the Diplomatic Corps, with a great concourse of the nobil- 
ity, and of men and women distinguished in every pro- 
fession and walk of life. A great number of carriages had 
collected in Dean's Yard, from which the occupants de- 
scended, passing through the arched doorway at the West 
Cloister, and each card of admission being presented and 
inspected by the policemen on duty. The entrance into 
the Abbey by way of the nave was the narrowest of door- 
ways, a mere slit in the wall, through which two persons 
could scarcely walk side by side. As the long procession 
moved slowly and silently through the ancient cloister, a 
line of reporters from the London newspapers stood at 
one side rapidly jotting down names, and now and then 
quietly asking a question when some one of the throng 
was unknown to them. 

Just within the narrow doorway a visitor's book lay 
open upon a desk in which many paused a moment to in- 
scribe their names. The Dean, in his robes of office, stood 
near the door, and shook hands, and exchanged greetings 
with those whom he knew. Within the Abbey itself the 
audience which filled the choir was quietly and quickly 
seated by the vergers in their black robes, to whom the 
cards were finally surrendered. The whole assemblage 
was in mourning. It had been announced that the doors 
would open at half past twelve, the general public being 



Death of the Prince of Battenberg 169 

admitted by the main entrance, and there was no dis- 
crimination between the general public and the distin- 
guished company in the West Cloister ; all alike waited the 
time announced before the doors were opened. At half 
past twelve, to the notes of Chopin's March Funebre, the 
Abbey bell tolling solemnly, the procession of the clergy 
and the choir marched slowly to their stalls, the officiating 
clergy proceeding to the chancel. Each chorister in his 
white robes wore a knot of black ribbon at the throat, 
while the clergy were habited only in their black cassocks, 
which gave the procession a very somber appearance. The 
Bishops of Rochester, Lincoln, Manchester, Salisbury, 
Chichester, Newcastle, Truro, Litchfield, Hereford, Bath 
and Wells, Gloucester, Bristol and Worcester occupied 
places within the chancel. The opening sentences were 
sur.g by the choir, followed by Purcell's arrangement 
of the Thirty-ninth Psalm, composed for and rendered 
at the burial of Queen Mary. The lesson was then 
read by the Dean and was followed by Sullivan's an- 
them: "Brother, thou art gone before us," the words of 
which had been written for the service by H. H. Milman. 
A hymn, "Christ will gather in His Own," had been se- 
lected by the Princess Beatrice and was most touchingly 
and sympathetically rendered. At the conclusion of the an- 
them the great audience arrayed in black sank on its knees 
in an interval of silent prayer for the bereaved Queen and 
her daughter, and as they rose the choir sang the sentence 
beginning: "I heard a voice from Heaven." The final 
prayers and the closing hymn were followed by the "Dead 
March in Saul," the notes of the great organ rising and 
swelling along the arches and aisles crowded with the dead 
of centuries. As the strains died away, the people stand- 
ing with bowed heads, the choristers descended from their 
stalls and were followed by the clergy, passing out through 
the nave as they had entered. The representatives of the 



170 A Looker On in London 

Government and the ambassadors and the attaches then 
left their places, walking slowly between double lines of 
people, the general public, hundreds of whom had stood 
in the aisles throughout the service. 

It was the end of the brief drama in which the poor 
young Prince had played his part, and as we returned 
home through the crowded streets, his body had been con- 
signed to its eternal rest in Whippingham church. He 
had died as he had lived, upright, steadfast, worthy of the 
confidence and affection which the Queen had felt for him, 
and which had been strengthened by the tragic circum- 
stances of his sudden death in the full vigor of manhood. 



CHAPTER XVII 

THE VENEZUELA CONTROVERSY 

(1895-6) 

In his annual message to Congress December 3, Presi- 
dent Cleveland stated that our relations with Great Britain, 
always important, had received a larger share of attention 
than ever, owing to the boundary controversy between 
Great Britain and Venezuela, in which the claims of the 
South American republic were indorsed by the United 
States; the dispute over the Alaskan boundary was also 
pending, and the Behring seal fisheries had been a source 
of disagreement since 189 1. This had been referred to an 
international tribunal, held in Paris, for arbitrament, and 
in 1893 the claims of the United States to jurisdiction 
over the seals in Behring sea were rejected ; but, as a con- 
cession, fishing was prohibited within a radius of 60 miles 
around PribylofT islands, and a close season between May 
1st and August 1st was legalized under the terms of the 
treaty; the English government was required to furnish 
three vessels for patrol duty in waters designated. These 
restrictions proved insufficient, and pelagic sealing threat- 
ened the destruction of the fisheries. Therefore, to insure 
further protection, additional regulations were adopted by 
the United States and Great Britain jointly on January 
1 8th, by which each sealing vessel was required to have a 
special license, to fly a special flag, and to employ only 
such hunters as were skilled in the use of the prescribed 
weapons ; vessels could enter the 60 mile radius during the 

171 



172 A Looker On in London 

close season and avoid detention by conforming to speci- 
fied requirements. 

In addition to all this, Great Britain had proposed the 
enforcement of international rules for the settlement of 
disputes at sea, based upon the deliberation of a confer- 
ence held in Washington about that time, and it was de- 
cided that the rules then adopted should go into effect 
March 1st. After this decision had been reached by the 
conference, Sir Julian Pauncefote, the British Ambassa- 
dor, was forced to inform the State Department that 
British ship-owners declined to accept the date fixed, and 
it was consequently cancelled. 

As the destruction continued President Cleveland issued 
his proclamation "forbidding the killing of seals in 
Alaskan waters under the penalty of a fine not exceed- 
ing $1,000 nor less than $200, or six months imprison- 
ment, or both fine and imprisonment." 

The chief obstacle in the way of reaching a satisfactory 
agreement had been the refusal of Congress to pay $450,- 
000 indemnity claimed by Great Britain for the unlaw- 
ful seizure of British vessels in Behring sea, a refusal 
which Congress justified upon the ground that indemnity 
had been refused for serious damages which the fisheries 
had suffered through violations of the law by British 
sealers. This, in brief, was the situation so far as the Behring 
sea controversy was concerned at the date of the Presi- 
dent's message, the dispute having been vigorously re- 
viewed by the press in both countries, growing more and 
more bitter and acrimonious. 

In his annual message Mr. Cleveland recommended 
either that the money be paid, or that the claims of both 
contestants be more fully investigated by further arbitra- 
tion, pronouncing the original terms to have been judi- 
cious and advantageous. Such a treaty, he stated, had 
been already agreed upon and 'was to be laid before the 



The Venezuela Controversy 173 

Senate immediately, and he expressed a hope that the 
means suggested therein might be immediately adopted. 

The question of the Alaskan boundary, less pressing at 
that time, but destined to become of paramount import- 
ance after the discovery of gold in the Klondyke in 1897, 
was reviewed in the same manner. Especial prominence, 
however, was given the Venezuela dispute, which the mes- 
sage declared, "was approaching an acute stage." This in- 
volved the establishment of a permanent, legal boundary 
line between Venezuela and British Guiana, and had been 
a subject of controversy almost from the formal cession 
of Berbice, Essequibo and Demerara to Great Britain by 
the Dutch in the London treaty of 1814. 

A survey had been made in 1835-39 by Sir Robert 
Schomburgk who had been sent out to Guiana by the 
Royal Geographical Society. He fixed the northern 
boundary line at the Amacura river and made the Cotinga 
the dividing line between Brazil and the British territory 
on the South. There was no ground for the fixing of 
these limits except the traditions of the Indians as to the 
extent of the Dutch possessions from whom the English 
title was acquired; these proofs were supposed to be 
strengthened by Schomburgk's discoveries of ruins of 
Dutch fortifications at Point Barima on a parallel with the 
northern terminus of his survey and not far removed from 
it. In the extension of the western frontier of British 
Guiana, Venezuela was deprived of a large tract of ter- 
ritory, and in 1841 the government dispatched its repre- 
sentative, Dr. Fortique, to London to arrange some prac- 
ticable and permanent settlement of the boundary. He 
was assured by Lord Aberdeen, who was then foreign sec- 
retary, that England did not regard the Schomburgk sur- 
vey as final, and that arbitrary marks set up by him would 
be utilized simply as guides in the future discussion of 
the boundary between the two countries. It was demanded 



174 A Looker On in London 

by Venezuela, however, that the marks be removed; but 
this demand was disregarded and Schomburgk continued 
his survey, which he completed in 1844. In that year the 
British boundary was removed still farther to the west, 
and was defined by the east bank of the Asyani river ; and 
in 1 88 1 what is known as the Granville line transferred the 
boundary to the west bank, though removing it twenty- 
nine miles south of the northern terminus of the Schom- 
burgk line and leaving Venezuela in undisputed posses- 
sion of the mouth of the Orinoco. 

During this period from 1835 to 1881, Venezuela con- 
tinued to protest, and apparently not without cause, 
against the gradual encroachments of Great Britain upon 
her territory ; she asked repeatedly for arbitration in which 
the claims of both governments might be fairly and equita- 
bly adjusted. In 1850 the two countries entered into an 
important agreement to regard the disputed territory as 
neutral ground "to remain inviolate pending a settle- 
ment." Negotiations were interrupted by civil war in 
Venezuela, but in 1876 Venezuela offered to accept the 
line fixed by Lord Aberdeen in 1844, which was refused 
by Lord Salisbury, who was foreign secretary ; Venezuela 
then for the first time appealed to the United States for 
moral support in her contest with Great Britain, and was 
assured by Mr. Evarts, Secretary of State, that this gov- 
ernment took a deep interest in "all transactions tending 
to the encroachment of foreign powers upon any of the 
Republics of this continent," and that "the United States 
could not look on with indifference to the forcible acquisi- 
tion of such territory by England." 

To add to the interminable complications, in 1883 valua- 
ble gold mines were discovered within the disputed ter- 
ritory, which it must be borne in mind lay far beyond the 
British line fixed by the Schomburgk survey. In 1882, 
the year preceding the discovery of gold, Venezuela made 



The Venezuela Controversy 175 

another urgent appeal to the United States and Mr. Fre- 
linghuysen, Secretary of State, replied that while unwill- 
ing to propose "prejudiced terms favorable to Venezuela," 
the United States would willingly arbitrate the matter, if 
its services were desired by both disputants. It was fur- 
ther declared that all such questions were regarded as 
"essentially and distinctively American and that the 
United States would always prefer to see such contentions 
adjusted through the arbitrament of an American, rather 
than a European power." This attitude has been main- 
tained by the United States unaltered. In 1884 Mr. 
Lowell was instructed to use his influence with Lord 
Granville, Foreign Secretary under Gladstone, and ac- 
quaint him fully with the position which the United States 
had resolved upon toward the weaker American Republics. 

No greater progress was made, however, either in the 
direction of arbitration or in fixing a permanent boundary 
line acceptable to both countries, successive English Min- 
istries refusing all propositions that looked to a peaceable 
solution of the question. 

In 1894 the dispute assumed a still more serious aspect ; 
a British police station was established adjacent to the 
gold mines beyond the limits of even the Granville line 
and 100 miles west of the Schomburgk line. The Vene- 
zuela military authorities in that vicinity ordered the re- 
moval of the station, and when the order was disregarded 
sent a detail of soldiers and arrested the inspector and 
sub-inspector who were in charge of the station. This 
act was repudiated by the government of Venezuela when 
the news of the arrest reached Caracas ; the men were re- 
leased and reimbursed for their personal losses, while 
those who had ordered the arrest were punished. Not- 
withstanding this, an indemnity of £12,000 was asked as 
additional reparation by the British government, which 
Venezuela refused on the ground that such payment 



176 A Looker On in London 

would be a virtual recognition of British sovereignty over 
the disputed territory. 

What is known as the Monroe doctrine formed the 
basis of the grounds upon which the United States justi- 
fied her interference ; and this, succinctly stated, opposed 
the further extension of monarchical institutions in the 
western hemisphere, which it declared to be peculiarly 
dedicated to the maintenance of democracy. Arbitrary as 
such an assumption of authority may appear, it was as- 
serted that its validity had been tacitly acknowledged by 
Great Britain for more than fifty years. 

A joint resolution was adopted by Congress February 
22, 1895, to the effect that "the President's suggestion 
that Great Britain and Venezuela refer their disputes as 
to boundaries to friendly arbitration be earnestly recom- 
mended to the favorable consideration of both parties in 
interest." 

The British government paid no attention to this reso- 
lution, and on July 20 Mr. Olney, Secretary of State, dis- 
patched a letter to Mr. Bayard, then American Ambassa- 
dor at the Court of St. James, in which he discussed the 
situation at length, reaffirming the Monroe doctrine and 
asserting its validity as a rule of procedure for the United 
States; the Schomburgk line was declared a matter of 
convenience and expediency, which had no other justifica- 
tion; and that all other lines proposed by Great Britain, 
to which the assent of Venezuela was desired, were con- 
ventional lines that could not be claimed as a matter of 
right ; no claims of either party were vested in strict legal- 
ity, Great Britain not having formulated any such demand 
and Venezuela charging that concessions already yielded 
had been made the stronger power only "from motives of 
prudence and moderation." 

The formulated statement of the situation made by Mr. 
Olney was substantially as follows ; 



The Venezuela Controversy 177 

1. — That the title to a large tract of land was contested 
between Great Britain and Venezuela. 

2. — That with her inferior strength Venezuela could 
hope to establish her claim only by agreement with Eng- 
land direct or through the medium of arbitration. 

3. — That the controversy had existed for half a cen- 
tury, Great Britain varying her claims and disregarding 
the persevering efforts of Venezuela to establish the 
boundary by agreement. 

4. — That after a quarter of a century of controversy 
Venezuela recognized the futility of her efforts. 

5. — Great Britain had steadfastly refused to arbitrate 
except upon condition of the renunciation of a large part 
of Venezuela's claims and the surrender of a large por- 
tion of the territory involved. 

6. — By supporting the claims of Venezuela, by con- 
tinually urging the restoration of diplomatic relations be- 
tween the two countries, by insisting upon arbitration and 
offering to act as arbitrator, and by other unaggressive 
means the United States had shown Great Britain that 
her personal honor and interests were involved and that 
the continuation of the dispute had become a matter which 
it could no longer disregard. 

Mr. Olney submitted this interpretation of the Monroe 
doctrine: "that no European power or combination of 
powers should forcibly deprive an American state of the 
right and power of self-government and of shaping for 
itself its own political fortunes and destinies;" and he 
further affirmed that the United States was practically 
sovereign on this continent because of its resources and 
its isolated position, which rendered it master of the situa- 
tion and invulnerable. These advantages, he maintained, 
were imperiled, if it were once acknowledged that Euro- 
pean powers could convert American states into colonies 
or provinces of their own. 



178 A Looker On in London 

To this letter, which was lengthy and indignant, Lord 
Salisbury did not reply until it had been very carefully 
considered by able counsel for the crown, who spent some 
weeks in reviewing its several propositions. On Novem- 
ber 26 Lord Salisbury addressed a note to Sir Julian 
Pauncefote, British Ambassador at Washington, who 
communicated its substance to the Secretary of State. In 
this note the Prime Minister replied that the Monroe doc- 
trine, which had never been recognized as a principle of 
international law, had been brought forward by the United 
States for the first time as a justification of its acts; that 
it had developed remarkably since its promulgation in 
1823, and that the conditions in Europe which had in- 
fluenced President Monroe in preparing the message in 
which the doctrine was embodied were now non-existent. 

At that time, certain European countries had combined 
by force of arms to prevent the adoption in other countries 
"of political institutions which they disliked and to up- 
hold by internal pressure those that they approved." Cer- 
tain South American countries, dependencies of Spain and 
Portugal, to which nearly the whole continent was sub- 
ject, had declared their independence which had not been 
recognized by the countries from which they had freed 
themselves. It was not an imaginary danger, therefore, 
which President Monroe had foreseen, as implied in the 
French invasion of Spain, which might inspire powerful 
European governments to attempt imposing upon South 
American republics by force of arms the government they 
had thrown off. The policy of President Monroe, which 
had declared resistance to such an enterprise if it were at- 
tempted, received the entire sympathy of the English gov- 
ernment at that time. Lord Salisbury further stated that 
he could not understand why Mr. Olney should bring for- 
ward an authority, highly popular with his fellow-coun- 
trymen, but which had no relation to the existing state of 



The Venezuela Controversy 179 

things at that time. Mr. Olney was also reminded that the 
controversy lay between Great Britain and Venezuela, a 
matter with which the United States had no apparent con- 
cern; he had declared that political union between an 
American and a European power was unnatural, which 
would imply that the union between Great Britain and 
her American possessions was unnatural. 

The note concluded with the assertion that Great Britain 
"was not prepared to admit that the interests of the 
United States were necessarily concerned in every frontier 
dispute which might arise between any two of the states 
which possess dominions in the Western Hemisphere; 
or that the United States were entitled to claim that the 
process of arbitration should be applied to any demand for 
the surrender of territory." 

In a second note, of a little later date, Mr. Olney was 
informed that the British title to the disputed territory was 
lawfully acquired from the Dutch, while that of Vene- 
zuela was based upon the original occupation of the con- 
tinent by Spain, it having been construed that the original 
Spanish possessions must necessarily belong to Venezuela 
as the self-constituted inheritor of those regions. 

Schomburgk had neither invented nor discovered any 
new line; his survey had been supported by history, by 
actual exploration, by information obtained from the In- 
dians and by local traditions that had determined the ex- 
tent of former Dutch possessions from which all Spanish 
influence was absent. The Schomburgk line reduced the 
area claimed by Great Britain, and England had always 
been willing to waive a portion of its claim, and, for the 
rest, was and always had been, ready to submit the title 
to arbitration. 

As for territory lying within the limits of the so-called 
Schomburgk line, Lord Salisbury decided "it was not con- 



180 A Looker On in London 

sidered that the rights of Great Britain were open to ques- 
tion." 

Arbitration was refused, which threatened "the transfer 
of a country occupied with British settlements, and in- 
volved the transfer of a large number of British subjects 
who for years had enjoyed the settled rule of a British 
colony, to a nation of a different race and language, whose 
political system was subject to frequent disturbances and 
whose institutions as yet afforded very inadequate pro- 
tection to life and property." 

At the date of President Cleveland's first message this 
note had not been received, but it arrived shortly after- 
wards and was made the subject of a special message, 
which was laid before Congress December 17. The Presi- 
dent called attention to the fact that the first communica- 
tion addressed by the British Prime Minister to Sir Julian 
Pauncefote, the British Ambassador at Washington, had 
been devoted to a discussion of the Monroe doctrine, it 
having been charged that its latest application was a new 
and strange extension and development ; that the reasons 
justifying an appeal to the doctrine by President Monroe 
no longer existed, and that it was especially inapplicable 
to a controversy involving the boundary line between 
Great Britain and Venezuela. 

The propositions laid down by Mr. Olney with great 
emphasis in his letter to Mr. Bayard were reiterated by 
President Cleveland in the special message, but in a some- 
what milder and more conciliatory tone. He insisted that 
the dispute came within the jurisdiction of the Monroe 
doctrine ; that the interests of the United States were in- 
volved, and that the government was justified not only in 
its demands for arbitration but in a further demand that 
its interests be specifically recognized. He thought that 
the course to be pursued by the United States admitted 
of no serious doubt, and he boldly stated that having la- 



The Venezuela Controversy 1 8 1 

bored for years to induce Great Britain to submit the dis- 
pute to impartial arbitration and having been definitely ap- 
prised of its refusal, nothing remained but to accept the re- 
quirements of the situation "and deal with it accordingly." 
It was further declared that "the dispute had reached such 
a stage as to make it incumbent upon the United States to 
determine, with sufficient certainty for its justification, the 
true divisional line between Venezuela and British Gui- 
ana." Mr. Cleveland's message concluded as follows : 

"An inquiry to that end should of course be conducted 
judiciously and carefully, and due weight should be given 
to all available evidence, records, and facts in support of 
the claims of both parties. In order that such examina- 
tion be prosecuted in a thorough and satisfactory man- 
ner, I suggest that Congress make an adequate ap- 
propriation for the expenses of a commission, to be ap- 
pointed by the executive, who shall make the necessary 
investigation and report upon the matter with the least 
possible delay. When such a report is made and accepted, 
it will, in my opinion, be the duty of the United States to 
resist by every means in its power, as a wilful aggression 
upon its rights and interests, the appropriation by Great 
Britain of any lands or the exercise of governmental 
jurisdiction over any territory which we have determined 
of right to belong to Venezuela." 

In making these recommendations the President de- 
clared finally : 

"I am fully alive to the responsibility incurred and 
keenly realize all the consequences that may follow. I am 
nevertheless firm in my conviction that, while it is a 
grievous thing to contemplate the two great English 
speaking peoples of the world as being otherwise than 
friendly competitors in the onward march of civilization, 
and strenuous and worthy rivals in all the arts of peace, 
there is no calamity which a great nation can invite which 



1 82 A Looker On in London 

equals that which follows submission to wrong and in- 
justice and a consequent loss of self-respect and honor, 
beneath which is shielded the people's safety and great- 
ness." 

The message was received by Congress with the wild- 
est enthusiasm, and, disregarding party feuds, $100,- 
ooo was instantly voted to defray the expenses of the 
commission which was recommended by Mr. Cleve- 
land. This was immediately appointed, and the following 
members were named: Justice David Brewer of the 
United States Supreme Court ; Chief Justice Alvy of the 
Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia ; Andrew D. 
White of New York ; Frederick R. Coudert of New York, 
and Daniel G. Gilman, President of Johns Hopkins Uni- 
versity. It was a fairly strong and representative body 
and, with the exception of Mr. Coudert, was gen- 
erally approved by the English press; Mr. Coudert was 
objectionable upon the ground that, as one of its attor- 
neys, he had been too closely identified with Tammany. 

The American press at first almost unanimously ap- 
plauded Mr. Cleveland's ultimatum; but in a few days a 
more moderate spirit prevailed and the intelligent classes 
were heard, and they condemned both the letter of Mr. 
Olney and the President's message as foolish and ill-ad- 
vised. General Miles, a man of unquestionable ability and 
experience, deprecated the prospect of war with England, 
courageously explaining his position at a public banquet in 
New York, perfectly aware that it would draw upon him 
the abuse of hundreds who refused to admit that, with but 
the semblance of an army, an inadequate navy, and 
with thousands of miles of unprotected seaboard, we were 
inviting certain disaster. 

When the reaction set in, the conservative spirit as- 
serted itself, and in Chicago it went to the extreme of a 
great public mass-meeting at which the President's propo- 



The Venezuela Controversy 1 8 3 

sitions were repudiated, and the formation of a permanent 
board of arbitration for the adjustment of disputes be- 
tween Great Britain and the United States was recom- 
mended. Other meetings of a similar character were held 
in New York and elsewhere. 

In Caracas the open championship of the powerful gov- 
ernment of the United States, so long sought for and at 
last secured, was the occasion for popular demonstration, 
torch-light processions and the most extravagant rejoic- 
ings. 



CHAPTER XVIII 

THE VENEZUELA CONTROVERSY — CONTINUED 

The effect produced by the special message in England 
was remarkable. With all the contention over the Behring 
sea question, the bickering and recriminations of the press 
on both sides of the Atlantic, it had not been believed that 
there was really any serious ill-will between the two na- 
tions. The English press had criticized the United States 
without reserve, inveighing with sufficiently evident cause 
against its disreputable political methods ; condemning its 
judiciary, made a part and parcel of political spoils; at- 
tacking its protective tariff, which operated to the disad- 
vantage of British commerce. The American people were 
taken to task individually and collectively for countless 
sins of omission and commission; for the rudeness and 
vulgarity of a certain class of American tourists ; the tend- 
ency to national hysteria. The universal greed and money 
worship all came in for the most unsparing criticism. 
The American press, in replying, had dwelt upon what it 
termed the land-grabbing propensities of Great Britain; 
its disposition to make war upon nations weaker than 
itself, both in numbers and armament; dilating upon the 
scandals that were rife among the aristocracy — a counter- 
arraignment quite as bitter and abusive as that by which it 
was provoked, and which was partially directed by hun- 
dreds of Irishmen, uncompromising Home Rulers, em- 
ployed as editors upon American newspapers from Boston 
to San Francisco. The British change of attitude from 
time to time was noted with much sarcasm and vindictive- 

184 



The Venezuela Controversy 185 

ness; England was reminded that when self-interest 
prompted her to extraordinary friendliness toward the 
United States she posed as the "Mother Country;" but 
when a display of authority was politic, we were reminded 
that she was the British Empire. Controversy of this 
sort had continued for some time with little variation. It 
was read, indorsed and accepted in both countries by the 
masses who rely upon the newspapers for their opinions, 
and it had produced the usual results ; the judgment of the 
people was warped, and excitable Americans and the less 
rational among the English were ready for any extrava- 
gance of folly which seemed to wear the guise of justifia- 
ble retaliation. 

The news of President Cleveland's pronunciamento was 
received in London on Wednesday morning, December 
1 8th. The great morning papers announced the crisis in 
headlines, which, for England, were startling; and the 
situation was discussed at great length and with remarka- 
ble variety of comment. The general tone, however, was 
moderate and was characterized by strong good sense; 
petty differences and the trifling faults that had been con- 
demned in the American character were forgotten. The 
war-like spirit of the United States was amazing; it had 
never been supposed that the wordy petulance and ill- 
temper that had prevailed were anything more serious 
than the ordinary outburst of a family quarrel. But when 
it was realized that the people were actually ready to rush 
into war without reflection and without preparation at the 
instigation of conscienceless agitators, who were behind 
the President, England let it be distinctly understood that 
there would be, on her part, at least, neither a sacri- 
fice of national honor nor an unjustifiable appeal to 
arms. The excitement throughout London was intense; 
the news was cried through the streets by news boys, who, 
for once, emulated those of New York and Chicago in the 



1 86 A Looker On in London 

stridency of their tones. It was set forth in the biggest 
and blackest of letters upon the posters held in place by 
stones along the sidewalks in Piccadilly, Trafalgar 
Square and the Strand. It was discussed with un-English 
vehemence by passengers in omnibuses and railway trains, 
at the clubs, in drawing-rooms, over South Kensington 
tea tables and at dinner tables in Belgravia and Park Lane. 
There was very little anger in all the talk, and certainly 
not a hint that the belligerent spirit of the United States 
had awakened a kindred feeling in England. There was 
an impersonal ' and dispassionate comparison of the re- 
spective strength of the two nations — the great English 
navy, and its army, which, insignificant compared to the 
standing armies of Europe, was more than a match for 
the handful of soldiers then stationed along our Western 
frontier and scattered at wide intervals, a few companies 
each, among the garrisons of the Middle and Eastern 
States. With the recognition of our inferiority in the mat- 
ter of men disciplined and equipped, immediately availa- 
ble to take the field, our readiness in emergency, our fer- 
tility in resource, our inventiveness, the ability to think, 
plan and execute with incredible swiftness and accuracy, 
were taken fully into account, and the general estimate, 
which was the correct estimate of our race characteristics, 
was both just and generous. 

The English press and people almost unanimously advo- 
cated a peaceful adjustment of the dispute. There were 
exceptions, as a matter of course, the few ultra anti- 
American papers commenting with severity upon the 
servility of England under unprovoked insult, just as our 
anti-English papers in the United States urged immediate 
hostilities. 

The English, who strenuously counseled the preserva- 
tion of peace, based their hope of continued friendly rela- 
tions upon what they termed the kinship of the two great 



The Venezuela Controversy 187 

branches of the English speaking people ; unaware that the 
Anglo-Saxon strain had been diluted in the past half cen- 
tury with the blood of almost every nation in Europe ; that 
so-called American cities were, in reality, quite as much 
Scandinavian, Celt and German as Anglo-Saxon, as in 
Chicago where Americans are the merest handful, com- 
pared to the foreign population. English had remained 
the common vernacular, and a modification of the English 
law, pronouncedly un-English in its administration, had 
survived, but very little else. 

Great reliance was placed upon the fact that President 
Cleveland's message had met with a vigorous protest 
from the religious element in the United States, which, in 
the Armenian controversy and afterwards in the rupture 
with Spain, had shown itself surprisingly ready to appeal 
to the sword. 

There had been a little uneasiness following Mr. Cleve- 
land's annual message to Congress, when it assembled the 
first of December, and some doubt expressed as to his real 
friendliness toward England, which, up to that time, had 
never been questioned. He had been extravagantly praised, 
dividing honors with the late Mr. Bayard in his popu- 
larity—a popularity throughout Great Britain which, also 
like that of Mr. Bayard, was based in no small degree 
upon his partisan opposition to the protective tariff. 
Therefore, when the moderate demands of the general 
message were repeated and emphasized still more defi- 
nitely in the special message, with hints of a resort to 
forcible measures, there was general consternation. Men 
at first were disposed to consider the President's change 
of attitude as something in the nature of a joke, and on 
December 20th the following humorous cablegram was 
sent to the New York Stock Exchange from the Stock 
Exchange in London : 
- "To the President of the New York Stock Exchange: 



1 88 A Looker On in London 

The members of the London Stock Exchange trust that, 
in the event of hostilities supervening between the two 
countries, special pains will be taken so that the excursion 
steamers will not hamper the operations of the British 
men-of-war." 

The New York Stock Exchange replied: 
"We hope your warships are better than your yachts." 
— an allusion to the unfortunate contention of Lord Dun- 
raven over the "Valkyrie" a few months before. 

Mr. Bayard, the American Ambassador, refused to take 
the warlike attitude of the United States seriously. On 
the evening of the 15th a dinner was given at the Hotel 
Metropole for the Actor's Benevolent Fund, at which the 
Ambassador was present, and where he had consented to 
respond to a toast. Much curiosity was felt as to his con- 
duct on the occasion, but he manifested the utmost good 
feeling. In proposing the toast, "The Actors' Benevolent 
Fund," Sir Francis Jeune who presided referred to the 
strained relations between the two countries, expressing 
a hope that the only war possible between them might be a 
histrionic war. This sentiment was greeted with tremen- 
dous applause, and when Mr. Bayard was introduced the 
enthusiasm reached the highest pitch. He said that Eng- 
land and the United States on that occasion stood on com- 
mon ground, and he recalled the Biblical story in which 
two women had claimed the same child. It was proposed 
that the infant be dismembered and divided between the 
two women, when, rather than sacrifice its life, the real 
mother expressed her willingness to surrender the child to 
the other claimant. "Our interests," he declared, "could 
not be divided ; they were the children of the brain and 
of the heart, and of a common ancestry. I do not think 
that they will ever be permitted to die." He added, "I will 
answer for my kindred and your kindred beyond the sea," 
and this sentiment was greeted with prolonged cheers. 



The Venezuela Controversy 189 

He then said in conclusion : "The time is seasonable to in- 
vite you to name my country and to join hands across the 
swelling main." 

The toast was drunk with increased enthusiasm and the 
cheering continued for some minutes after the Ambassa- 
dor resumed his seat. 

The speech was cabled to the American newspapers and 
published throughout the country the following morning, 
and it added fuel to the flame. Congress was so indignant 
that many of the members urged the Ambassador's im- 
mediate recall. 

While this state of affairs prevailed in the United 
States, there was not at any time much disposition to brag 
or bluster on the part of even the most Conservative mem- 
bers of Parliament. The newspapers, except a few of the 
more excitable Radical organs, and one weekly publica- 
tion whose hatred of the United States has always re- 
sembled a type of political rabies, were equally forbearing. 
Liberals and Conservatives alike insisted that the United 
States had taken an erroneous view of the claims of Eng- 
land, which could not be construed by any rational mind 
as a menace to her rights and dignity. It was declared 
that England would stand her ground, but intemperate 
threats of war were deprecated, which, it was declared, 
would be a disaster to civilization and retard its progress 
for centuries. There was nothing that approached the 
anger and resentment which was instantly roused when 
the German Emperor congratulated President Kruger, a 
little later, on the success of the Boers in their conflict 
with Dr. Jameson's forces in the Transvaal. Then there 
was an immediate movement to place the British army and 
navy upon a war footing; extensive preparations were 
made and work was hurriedly carried on, day and night, 
in every ship-yard in the Kingdom. The flying squadron 



190 A Looker On in London 

was ordered home and troops from India were dispatched 
to the Cape. 

What had been known always to unprejudiced Ameri- 
cans who possessed any personal knowledge of the Eng- 
lish people — that there was no real animosity on the part 
of England toward the United States — became more than 
ever apparent. It was charged by certain classes in 
America that England, feeling her isolation — an easy term 
coined for the unthinking and unobserving — felt the need 
of an alliance with the United States in the furtherance 
of her schemes in the Far East. It was forgotten that 
England had already held her own in her negotiations 
with the Powers, and had extended and firmly established 
her colonies in every continent on the globe without our 
assistance or countenance, and that the benefits of an 
American alliance were not more necessary or apparent 
to her at that crisis than they had been in any of the phases 
of her previous development. 

But, while this was true, and England did not desire 
war with the United States, there were undoubtedly pru- 
dential motives that made any prospect of hostilities be- 
tween the two countries unpopular. There was in Eng- 
land then, as now, a great army of the unemployed who 
were largely dependent upon public charity, with another 
and even greater class, who, while upon the verge of pau- 
perism continued to live, unaided, upon their scanty earn- 
ings. Bitterness, hopelessness and dangerous discontent 
were rife amongst them — a spirit which had its counter- 
part, both in extent and virulence, amongst the same 
classes in the United States. 

War with this government threatened the bread supply, 
the one staple which is cheap in England. The extension 
of territory, success in a controversy over a remote bound- 
ary line, whatever it meant in the interpretation of diplo- 



The Venezuela Controversy 191 

macy, conveyed to the minds of the masses but one pos- 
sibility — it meant the stoppage of their rations. 

"Bread would go up to a shilling a loaf," a decent labor- 
ing man exclaimed, "which would mean a revolution as 
savage as that of the Commune." 

The misery of the Manchester cotton famine was re- 
called — the outcome of an industrial disturbance, the re- 
flex effects of our Civil War, in which England had main- 
tained her neutrality and had not been immediately in- 
volved. The progress that the British working classes 
had made in pressing their claims since that time was 
pointed out, their restlessness under restraint, their pri- 
vation, which had apparently increased ; and a repetition 
of the Manchester disturbance at this juncture was con- 
templated with outspoken foreboding. 

The immediate invasion of Canada, which was sug- 
gested by Mr. Chauncey Depew, or attributed to him, 
was accepted as one of those mild pleasantries with which 
he intersperses his public utterances. A few, however, 
professed to perceive in this extravagant proposition a 
premature betrayal of our design to seize the British pos- 
sessions beyond our northern borders, when a fitting op- 
portunity should present itself. At that time the acquisi- 
tion of territory, except in the case of Hawaii, which had 
been virtually an American colony for fifty years, was 
opposed by the majority in the United States. It was as- 
serted by the intelligent that we had not the genius for 
colonization, and had more than enough to tax our ener- 
gies and resources in correcting abuses existing within 
our borders; in averting disaster at the hands of native 
and naturalized demagogues whom we had invested with 
dangerous authority. 

On Sunday, after the news of President Cleveland's 
message had been received, prayers for the preserva- 
tion of peace were offered in many of the churches and 



192 A Looker On in London 

the sermons of the day carefully reviewed the existing dif- 
ferences. All the leading clergy approved the desire ex- 
pressed by the press and people that the matter be de- 
cided by arbitration, advocating a permanent international 
commission for the adjustment of disputes between the 
two nations, similar to that which was proposed and was 
afterwards rejected by the United States. 

At St. James, Piccadilly, Canon Wilberforce spoke with 
profound feeling, deploring fratricidal strife among Chris- 
tian nations upon the eve of that season especially dedi- 
cated to peace and good will. He made an earnest appeal 
for self-control, and counseled a careful effort on the part 
of law-abiding people to restrain from inciting bitterness 
and alienation by word or deed, and declared that the in- 
terest of the United States and England in widening the 
boundaries of Christendom were identical; they were 
tacitly pledged to uphold civilization and carry its bless- 
ings, virtually acting in harmony, to the uttermost regions 
of the globe. The civil war between North and South 
was condemned as evil and useless, the end gained having 
been possible through peaceable and wiser means. 

The congregation were in a peculiarly receptive frame 
of mind, and his words produced a marked impression; 
he was heard with the closest attention, and, as a last proof 
of emotions deeply stirred, many were even moved to 
tears. 

This was the attitude of the English clergy, both the 
non-Conformists and those of the Established church 
everywhere, and it carried immense weight. The influence 
of the Established church, an integral and vital part of the 
actual government, was especially of the greatest impor- 
tance, and it was the realization of this great ecclesiastical 
authority in England which had led to a very natural ex- 
aggeration of the advantages of clerical advocacy of peace 
in the United States, where it was not realized that Chris- 



The; Venezuela Controversy 193 

tians are divided into innumerable sects; where there is 
no office that corresponds to the head of the English 
hierarchy, and where any institution approaching a state 
religion, or any semblance of religious interference in po- 
litical affairs, meets instant and violent opposition. There 
was, however, much truth in the statement of the Standard 
on Monday morning that "the exhortation and the prayers 
which were heard by so many congregations on the other 
side of the Atlantic were only parallel expressions of the 
profound feeling which pervaded our English churches." 

Lord Salisbury showed a dignified readiness to con- 
sider any reasonable propositions on the part of the United 
States and the government readily acceded to the popular 
demand that the question be referred to an arbitration 
committee. While the formalities necessary to accom- 
plish this were in progress, the excitement in England had 
time to cool, as occurred in the United States, and in the 
deliberations that followed reason fortunately prevailed. 

As a final outcome of the agitation, the violent demon- 
strations in America, the gloom and depression which 
were prevalent in England, a treaty for determining the 
boundary between British Guiana was signed at Washing- 
ton on February 2nd. The whole matter was referred to a 
commission, in which England was represented by Lord 
Herschell and Mr. Justice Henn Collins, and Venezuela 
by Chief Justice Fuller and Justice Brewer of the Su- 
preme Court of the United States, with a fifth, Prof. 
F. von Mertens of St. Petersburg, whom the King of 
Sweden was empowered to select to cast the decisive 
vote in the event of disagreement. The commission en- 
tered at once upon its labors, the Schomburgk survey was 
scrupulously investigated by commissioners dispatched to 
the Hague, where it is believed important data concerning 
it had been preserved. 

In her speech from the throne at the opening of Parlia- 



194 A Looker On in London 

ment in February, 1897, the Queen discussed the attitude 
of the United States in the controversy, "acting as the 
friend of Venezuela, the terms under which the pending 
questions of disputed frontier between that republic and 
my colony of British Guiana may be equitably submitted 
to arbitration." She said: "It is with much gratification 
that I have concluded a treaty for general arbitration with 
the President of the United States, by which I trust that 
all differences that may arise between us will be peacefully 
adjusted. I hope that this arrangement may have further 
value in commending to other powers the consideration of 
a principle by which the danger of war may be notably 
abated." 

Justin McCarthy with much audacity criticizes the Eng- 
lish in which this pacific sentiment is expressed, but in his 
comment upon it remarks, in English which seems hardly 
more lucid than that of the speech : "No event of the 
Queen's long reign could be more happy or more au- 
spicious than were the mere preliminary arrangements be- 
tween England and the United States ; and, undoubtedly, 
one of the great benefits of such a treaty would be that it 
might, and indeed must, commend to other nations the 
consideration of a principle by which the danger of war 
might be made, indeed, the last resource, the very last re- 
source, of an international controversy." 

After the commission was formed, a radical change of 
opinion occurred toward England in the United States. 
In the war with Spain, which was declared April 
25, 1898, Great Britain promptly made known her neu- 
trality and ordered the war ves'sels of both belligerents to 
quit her ports, after securing fuel and provisions sufficient 
to enable them to reach the nearest port in their respective 
countries. She rendered the United States invaluable 
service, however, in declaring coal contraband of war, an 
edict that was disastrous to Spain and of comparatively 



The Venezuela Controversy 195 

little consequence to the United States, whose ships were 
readily supplied, even in the Philippines, by transports 
loaded from American mines. Even the most persistent 
enemies of Great Britain in the United States were 
forced to acknowledge that the attitude of England had 
immense influence in averting intervention on the part of 
the other foreign powers, especially France, which had in- 
vested large sums in Spanish bonds, and which indignantly 
opposed the willingness of England to arbitrate the Vene- 
zuela dispute upon the demand of the United States, 
which it plainly termed a precedent establishing the recog- 
nition of the Monroe doctrine by other nations as a prin- 
ciple of international law. 

Many now readily admit, in the light of recent events, 
that the breach which threatened in 1895 was providen- 
tially healed, and that a conflict with England followed by 
war with Spain would have been disastrous, if not fatal, 
and it is quite probable that this timely friendliness may 
simplify the task of the arbitration committee. 



CHAPTER XIX 

THE CHARTERED COMPANY 

(1895-6) 

The excitement occasioned by President Cleveland's 
message on the Venezuela question had scarcely quieted 
down when London was again convulsed with the sensa- 
tional news of Dr. Jameson's unsuccessful attempt to in- 
vade the Transvaal with an armed force commanded by 
British officers holding the Queen's commissions. 

The new year had dawned dismally, with lowering 
skies and in the midst of great social, political and finan- 
cial depression. The Venezuela flurry had shown that 
the United States could not be reckoned upon in case of 
need, had its alliance been sought on the mere ground of 
a professed Anglo-Saxon ancestry and a common tongue. 
Lord Salisbury had been savagely assailed for non-inter- 
ference in the Armenian disturbances, the same element 
seeking to force the government into an ineffectual war 
with Europe, an element corresponding to that class in the 
United States which had urged the immediate and forcible 
vindication of the Monroe doctrine in the Venezuela dis- 
pute. Germany was very unfriendly, as was subsequently 
shown, and there were difficulties existing and threatened 
in Egypt and along the Indian frontier. The South Afri- 
can imbroglio seemed to be the crowning stroke ; how it 
would end no one could tell, and there were excited de- 
nunciations of those who had instigated and abetted Jame- 
son's folly, with the most dismal prophecies as to the ulti- 
mate consequence's of his rashness and lawlessness. It is 

196 



The Chartered Company 197 

now pretty well understood that Dr. Jameson's plans were 
known in England to the few who had the confidence of 
Mr. Cecil Rhodes, the head and front of the conspiracy, 
and that these were personages of exalted station, men of 
wealth and title, with the editors of at least one great 
newspaper. 

Dr. Jameson — "Dr. Jim," as he was affectionately called 
in conformity to the English custom of bestowing nick- 
names — was at first deeply pitied, and great indignation 
was felt toward the so-called reform committee who were 
charged with betraying him and leaving him to his fate. 

In some of its features the case was an illustration of 
history repeating itself, and the uprising in 1880 was re- 
called, the investment of Pretoria and the repulse and 
slaughter of the English forces, with the death of Colley 
at Majuba Hill, in February, 1881. That almost the same 
disaster had again occurred, it was decided, indicated two 
things; first, that the English soldier, the "Rooibaatje" 
as the Dutch termed him, was no match for the Boer on 
his native veld ; and second, that the compromise accepted 
at the conclusion of hostilities in that campaign resulted 
not in peace, but in what had proved to be only an indefi- 
nite truce. President Kruger was pre-eminently the man 
of the hour; reminiscences of his visit to •London with 
General Joubert were recalled, and the descriptions that 
were current at West End dinner tables were certainly not 
flattering, no matter how accurate they may have been. 
He was generally described as a man who was habitually 
unkempt, untidy, stolid, sanctimonious and superstitious. 
It was related of him that he would scarcely look out of 
his window in Piccadilly, lest he should be contaminated 
by its rampant worldliness. Frau Kruger was presented 
in even stronger colors as the typical Dutch "tanta," una- 
ble to speak or understand English, and even more shocked 
than her rustic husband by the frivolities of the English 



198 A Looker On in London 

metropolis. Joubert, who accompanied the President and 
his wife to England, was regarded as much more a man 
of the world, less narrow in his religious prejudices, and 
more familiar with the ordinary social conventions. 

Almost from the moment that the public were informed 
of Dr. Jameson's defeat and capture, the chief question 
seemed to be : "What reparation will the Boers demand at 
the hands of the British government?" There was great 
relief when it was learned that the lives of Dr. Jameson 
and his officers had been spared, but there was a whole 
volume in this one weighty sentence in a Standard leader 
which reviewed at length the disastrous adventure. 

"We trust that the President (Kriiger) has no claims 
in reserve that may cause public opinion to modify the 
favorable verdict at present pronounced upon his con- 
duct." 

In other words, having handed over to the British gov- 
ernment the leader of an unsuccessful invasion, as Presi- 
dent Kriiger had done, and it was an invasion which had 
resulted in the loss of some twenty lives, it was hoped that 
the Transvaal would not ask for indemnity. Bearing in 
mind that thrift which was a national characteristic of the 
Dutch Boer, the English government might as well have 
petitioned water not to run up hill, or have attempted to 
abolish the law of gravitation by act of Parliament, as was 
afterwards sufficiently proved. The Boer had been won- 
derfully merciful in sparing life where most governments 
would have carried out the sentence of an immediate court 
martial without delay ; but it seemed extremely improbable 
that he would content himself with the sole reward of an 
approving conscience, which, had the case been reversed, 
England assuredly would not have done. It was speedily 
realized that England would be called upon, and very 
properly, to pay roundly for Dr. Jameson's unsuccessful 
expedition. While the public mind, already harassed and 



The Chartered Company 199 

anxious over the threatened conflict with the United 
States, was distressed ' beyond measure over this fresh 
trouble, an added complication was brought about by the 
telegram of congratulation which the Emperor of Ger- 
many saw fit to transmit to President Kriiger on his vic- 
tory. There had been, for some months, a growing cold- 
ness between England and Germany, and the German 
Emperor was extremely unpopular, even before he thus 
defiantly betrayed his real hostility and jealousy. His in- 
terference, which was termed a gross violation by all the ac- 
cepted traditions of diplomacy, forced the English people 
to conclude that they had, almost within their own gates, a 
jealous and implacable enemy whose secret animosity 
had only been aggravated by an outward friendliness and 
by still closer ties of consanguinity. The Emperor had vis- 
ited the Queen, his royal grandmother, the preceding Au- 
gust, and had been received with every mark of honor 
befitting his exalted station. He had apparently recipro- 
cated this warmth of feeling and had participated cor- 
dially in the succession of brilliant fetes that had been 
given at Osborne during his visit. He was untiring in his 
attendance upon the Queen and apparently upon terms of 
perfect amity with other members of the Royal family. 
In view of all this, the Kriiger telegram was boldly de- 
nounced as an indecent -affront to the English government, 
which was not less astounded by the message itself than by 
the support which the attitude of the Emperor had re- 
ceived from the German press and people. The mediaeval 
views of the German Emperor as to the divine right of 
kings, had met with very little sympathy among the Eng- 
lish Royal family who, while they sufficiently respected 
their own peculiar and hereditary prerogatives, were not 
disposed to imitate the solemn and irksome etiquette of 
the German court. It had long been known that the Em- 
peror had violently resisted the English influence of his 



200 A Looker On in London 

mother, the good Empress Frederick, and it was now ap- 
parent that this opposition had at last expressed itself un- 
mistakably. In the thickening troubles, France, as usual, 
veered with the wind. During the few days of the Vene- 
zuela dispute the French press unanimously expressed the 
utmost sympathy for England, prompted wholly by self- 
interest — the possibility of a future dispute over her own 
boundary line between French Guiana and Brazil ; but 
having had a little leisure for reflection she modified her 
views. The threatened breach between Germany and 
England was hailed as a probable opportunity to recover 
her own lost provinces, and the French press echoed the 
German denunciations of the Transvaal raiders with 
marked coldness. Much as France hated England she 
hated Germany more, and Would be neither advised nor in- 
fluenced by a people at whose hands she had suffered 
spoliation and defeat. 

Very little was said in this crisis for or against Mr. Ce- 
cil Rhodes. Its moving spirit, apparently he had taken 
precautions to conceal his direct and personal connection 
with the plot. His resignation of the Premiership of Cape 
Colony, following Jameson's defeat and capture, confirmed 
a deep-seated impression among those who disliked him — 
and his enemies were numerous — that he had shielded 
himself behind his luckless subordinate and so escaped 
his just deserts. Not even his enormous wealth or the pa- 
tronage of royalty itself, had been then sufficient to estab- 
lish his popularity in London where it was believed he 
would not have despised public favor. There was, as is 
usual in such controversies, a diversity of opinion. Mr. 
Rhodes was condemned by many, as a man absorbed in 
personal ambitions, regardless of those whom he sacrificed 
in the furtherance of his aims ; cold, crafty, and selfish to 
the core. Others praised his executive ability and thought 
that they perceived in his character the chief essentials of 



The Chartered Company 201 

leadership. Fortunately for him, many of his defenders 
were men of high position who, it was charged, were not 
wholly disinterested ; while among his enemies were those, 
which was also to his advantage, whose disapproval was 
a recommendation to the clemency of the decent and intel- 
ligent. He had, from the first, the support of the Times 
through its colonial correspondent, a woman of great abil- 
ity, whose judgment had been valued by the editors, and 
who, apparently a little flattered by the distinction of her 
position, had been drawn into the plottings of the real 
leader, as was shown in the subsequent parliamentary in- 
vestigations. The countenance which had been lent the 
Chartered Company, the fountain source of the conspiracy, 
by titled and influential men, greatly modified the com- 
ments of the Conservative newspapers ; the Liberal papers, 
alone, speaking with entire frankness and with no appear- 
ance of reserve. Many conflicting statements, rather sur- 
prising and unusual in the English press, were spread 
abroad, and several days elapsed before the various ver- 
sions were sifted to the bottom and the actual facts as- 
certained. For almost a week special telegrams from 
South Africa appeared with the explanatory foot note — 
"delayed in transmission" — which hinted at unlawful 
tampering with telegraph wires, and which also was fully 
explained and corroborated in the progress of the trial 
some weeks later. 

Mr. Chamberlain at this crisis was the hero of the 
people, although public opinion afterwards was con- 
siderably modified. It was acknowledged even by the 
Liberals, who had not been able to forgive his deser- 
tion to Conservative or Liberal-Unionist ranks, that he 
had proved himself equal to a very difficult emergency, 
and the promptness with which he met the demands of the 
Transvaal, arranging without loss of time for the return 
of Dr. Jameson and his men to England and their imme- 



202 A Looker On in London 

diate trial, was commended on every side. He was toasted 
at public and private dinners, praised in enthusiastic ad- 
dresses at public meetings, and on the evening of January 
8th went to Windsor to receive the thanks of the Queen. 

A strange situation, however, was brought about ; hav- 
ing the raiders committed to its charge, to be dealt with 
according to their deserts, the English government, at 
first, -was at a loss what to do with them. The Boers had 
exercised a clemency that could not be abused ; pardoning 
the men would have been construed as a national affront, 
and England was in honor bound to repudiate their hare- 
brained folly. In the eyes of his fellow countrymen, both 
in South Africa and in England, Dr. Jameson was a 
transcendent patriot. It had been claimed, as a justifica- 
tion of the raid, that the expedition had been planned for 
the relief of women and children who were in deadly peril 
of mistreatement at the hands of the Boers in Johannes- 
burg. It was felt that Cape Colony was immensely in- 
debted to him for the advancement of measures that had 
aided the development of its rich resources and promoted 
its general prosperity ; and the extreme penalty of the law 
could hardly have been meted out, even had there existed 
a statute adequately covering the case and providing for its 
proper punishment, without a second uprising, possibly 
more disastrous than the first. It was thought, also, by the 
law-abiding classes, that the integrity of the English 
courts, the impartiality of the English law which was pro- 
nouncedly no respecter of persons, was to be vindicated ; 
and whether this was accomplished or not, is yet an open 
question. 

The first accounts of Jameson's chivalry occasioned a 
burst of patriotic fervor; not unlike the sentimentalizing 
over the Cuban insurgents in the United States, before 
their idiosyncrasies were ascertained by the Americans 
sent to their relief. Mr. Alfred Austin, who had been re- 



The Chartered Company 203 

cently created Poet Laureate, wrote some mawkish verses ; 
ballads of a like nature were composed, with a swinging 
chorus, framed and devised for the music halls and the 
pit and galleries of minor theaters, in which they joined 
fortissimo; and there was much excited waving of the 
English Tack, with extemporaneous speeches from patri- 
otic managers. Then the excitement abated and the crit- 
ics, indulgent and a little deluded at first, wondered if the 
author of "The Idylls of the King" would have descended 
to ballad writing for the patronage of music halls. One 
of the influential newspapers called attention to the 
real predominance of Hebrew names in the list of of- 
ficials of the Chartered Company, boldly asserting that the 
attempted revolution was undertaken less for the relief of 
suffering English women and children, than to back up 
shrewd and daring speculators of anything but English 

ancestry. 

A great deal was made of the statement, professedly 
authoritative, that "Mr. Rhodes would come home to face 
the music;" but the flying visit which he subsequently 
paid, arriving almost in secrecy, conferring with Mr. 
Chamberlain and a few others whom untoward events 
made it necessary for him to see, and returning to South 
Africa immediately, could hardly be described as "facing 
the music ;" and when the final reckoning came it was the 
impulsive Scotchman and not the calculating Englishman 
who suffered. It was the golden opportunity of blatant 
radicals, and pre-eminently of their ostensible leader, the 
editor of a weekly paper, chiefly distinguished for its lead- 
ers written in the first person. Never had its pages so 
bristled with capital "I's," incredible as this may seem ; 
and never were its utterances accepted with such avidity 
by the large number of discontented men-servants who 
formed so important a part of its client elle. The rest of 
the public naturally distrusted loyalty that proclaimed 



204 A Looker On in London 

itself so vociferously from the house tops, and pene- 
trated the flimsy disguise of one who so palpably 
posed as the friend of the masses. It was a season of 
most congenial activity in this direction and the "rotten- 
ness of the Chartered Company" was certainly well aired. 
The expose was prefaced by an account of the seizure of 
Matabeleland and the robbery of Lobengula, his persecu- 
tion and death and the subsequent discovery that there 
was no gold in the territory which had been acquired by 
brutal force and unwarranted conquest. The Chartered 
Company was charged with circulating reports of the 
fabulous wealth of the Mashonaland possessions, which, 
with clever stock exchange manipulations sent the shares 
up to £8, ios. It was further charged that innumerable 
sub-companies were floated, with claims as assets, and 
many millions were invested. This had gone on steadily for 
months, it being impossible to prove conclusively either 
that the Matabeleland mines were or were not productive. 
A crash was inevitable and ruin could be averted, it was 
asserted, only try the seizure of the Transvaal territory, 
the value of its gold deposits being perfectly well known. 
Mr. Rhodes had been charged also with a deliberate at- 
tempt at pauperizing the natives, preventing them from 
holding land and raising cattle, that they might be forced 
to work for Europeans ; the development of South Africa 
being largely dependent upon native labor. The charges 
against Mr. Rhodes and the Chartered Company were 
specifically set forth and were ten in number, the first be- 
ing marked by vigor and acrimony and the tenth dying 
away in what Carlyle would have termed "an unin- 
telligible whinner." There was, no doubt, a good deal of 
truth in the allegations, but, fortunately for the accused, 
the source from which they originated counteracted any 
important influence that they might have exerted. Many 
of the charges, however, those especially that appeared in 



The Chartered Company 205 

reputable Liberal papers, were sufficiently well-grounded ; 
they could not have been published, otherwise, in a coun- 
try where the libel law is so clearly denned and so com- 
prehensive and all consequences of its infringement so 
absolutely certain. 



CHAPTER XX 

THE JAMESON TRIAL 

After the ill-starred battle of Dornkoop resulting in 
the defeat and capture of Dr. Jameson and his officers, 
the prisoners, as has been stated, were banded over to the 
British authorities for trial and punishment by President 
Kruger, who also demanded heavy indemnity from the 
English government. They were detained in prison at 
Pretoria for four weeks, where their confinement was 
made as comfortable as possible ; where they were permit- 
ted to converse freely, amuse themselves with various 
sports and were liberally supplied with wines and other 
luxuries, and were then sent back to England. Their com- 
fort was allso scrupulously considered throughout the voy- 
age, Dr. Jameson spending much of his time in reading 
and writing. The return was by the way of the Red sea and 
the Mediterranean, and the London press was apprised of 
the state of their health and other matters of interest when 
the ship touched at Malta, although the newspaper corre- 
spondents were not permitted to go on board or to com- 
municate with the men. The same rule was rigidly ob- 
served when the vessel anchored at Portsmouth on Sunday 
afternoon, February 2d. 

On Monday the arrival of Dr. Jameson was eagerly ex- 
pected, and great crowds assembled around the Bow street 
police court, which was filled with people who waited there 
all day. In the evening a police launch went down. the 
river with a detail of officers and met the "Victoria," 
upon which their passage had been taken ; the warrant for 

206 



The Jameson Trial 207 

their arrest was read and Dr. Jameson and his associates 
were transferred from the ship to the tug Corruna which 
landed them at the Temple Pier. The men were haggard 
and exhausted from the long voyage, and were still clad 
in the brown uniforms and broad-brimmed grey felt hats 
which they had worn in the battle at Dornkoop ; suffering 
keenly in the damp chill of the February evening after 
the heat of the South African summer. They arrived at 
nightfall, and were driven to the Bow street court without 
delay. No cards of admission had been required on that 
first evening, and the body of the court room was filled 
with a miscellaneous audience ; upon the bench where he 
sat much of the time during the subsequent proceedings, 
was the Duke of Abercorn, the Honorary Chairman of 
the Chartered Company, with Lady Annaly, Lord and 
Lady Alington, Lord and Lady Chelsea and others of 
equal position. At half past six the Public Prosecutor 
arrived and at seven o'clock Sir John Bridge, the Magis- 
trate, took his seat upon the bench. Dr. Jameson and his 
twelve associates were immediately ushered into the Court 
room through the prisoner's door, and they were greeted 
with ringing cheers and with such enthusiasm that it was 
some time before order could be restored. The magis- 
trate rebuked this demonstration with great severity, re- 
minding those present that the men who had been so 
warmly applauded were there to answer for a serious of- 
fense, and he threatened to clear the court if it occurred 
again. 

Dr. Jameson and his confederates were then formally 
charged with having fitted out an expedition in December, 
1895, within Her Majesty's dominions, without her per- 
mission and marching against a friendly state, the South 
African Republic. 

The defendants gave bond in the sum of £1,000 for their 
re-appearance, and the magistrate again reminded them 



208 A Looker On in London 

that the charge entered against them was a grave one, and 
they were advised to keep away from public places where 
their appearance might occasion excitement. 

There was such a desire to witness the proceedings, that 
the authorities were overwhelmed with requests for tick- 
ets of admission to the court room, which were somewhat 
difficult to secure. Mine was obtained through the cour- 
tesy of friends at the American Embassy, and I was in- 
structed to present myself at the private entrance of the 
court at 9 130 o'clock, an unearthly hour in London where 
the shop shutters have only just been taken down, and the 
sober-minded part of the population are still at breakfast. 

It was the 17th of March, St. Patrick's day, a bright, 
sunny morning, and along the sidewalks in Wellington 
street, men and women were selling tinsel ornaments, or 
sprigs of shamrock for the buttonhole, for which they 
found many purchasers whose nationality was patent. 
Three policemen stood guard at the main entrance of the 
Police court, and another at the gate leading into a wide, 
flagged court by which the private entrance was to be 
reached. Here the windows shone with much cleaning, 
and the bell and door-plate bore evidence of skillful polish- 
ing, while the door-step was of snowy whiteness. It was 
much more like the entrance to a private residence, whose 
mistress thoroughly understood the art of good house- 
keeping, than any police court that I had ever seen before. 

When I took the seat assigned me, the clock upon the 
wall showed that it was just half past nine. Policemen 
were stationed at the doors, or came and went about 
their business ; an artist at a desk made a rapid sketch of 
the interior of the court room for one of the illustrated 
papers, and was closely watched by several men who stood 
at his elbod. and whose close proximity and fixed scrutiny 
did not seem to disturb him. He remained at his post all 
day, and having completed his first task busied himself 



The Jameson Trial 209 

with the interesting personages who took part in the pro- 
ceedings, or were seated with the magistrates upon the 
bench, none of whom apparently resented being sketched. 
Then the reporters of the great London news associa- 
tions began to drop in, and seated themselves around a 
narrow table much too small and crowded for their needs. 
A good many of them, as would have happened in the 
United States, were unmistakably Irish, and wore the 
distinctive shamrock in the lapel. One lady sat at this 
table where she took occasional notes in a very small and 
elegant Russia leather note book, while many of the men 
who could not be accommodated there, wrote all day very 
laboriously and inconveniently upon their knees. The 
"lady journalist," to use the conventional English term, 
carried a volume of "Jude the Obscure" for mental re- 
freshment when the proceedings of the trial began to pall, 
or between intervals of conversation with those of the re- 
porters whom she knew. 

On the opposite side of the court room was another 
small table for the reporters of the London newspapers, 
while behind them, writing on "blocks," which they also 
held upon their knees, were the representatives, presuma- 
bly of the provincial press. The court room was as tidy 
as a drawing room, and by no means gloomy. Upon 
the bench to the right and left of the magistrate, Sir John 
Bridge, were a number of people who had been permitted 
to occupy these seats during the trial, the Duke of Aber- 
corn, the Dowager Marchioness of Londonderry, Vis- 
countess Knutsford, Lady Coventry, Lady Rayleigh, Lady 
Cranborne, Lady Elizabeth Biddulph, Sir F. Dixon-Hart- 
land, M. P., friends of the Magistrate and the defendants. 
To the left were "the pews," as they were called, and to the 
right the witness stand ; this was a conspicuous object with 
a fanciful canopy supported by slender brass columns. 
In the center of the main floor, on a lower level than the 



210 A Looker On in London 

witness stand, was a space for the table at which the clerk 
and other officials were seated. Mr. Cavendish, the clerk, 
rapidly recorded the evidence as it was rendered, and when 
it was finished, read it aloud, submitting it to the witness 
for his signature. This was written with a big quill, 
which seems to be used exclusively in English courts. Al- 
though the Magistrate was not to take his seat until eleven 
o'clock, the spectators who had been able to secure ad- 
mission were all in their places long before that hour. The 
audience was strikingly distinguished in manner and ap- 
pearance, even many who stood in the rear of the benches 
throughout the day having an air of great refinement and 
intelligence, very unlike the usual loiterers in ordinary 
court rooms. As it was only the preliminary hearing for 
committal, the magistrate and barristers appeared without 
wig and gown. At eleven o'clock the door in the rear of 
the bench opened and the magistrate entered and, in obe- 
dience to some indistinct command, the clerk, barristers 
and audience arose and stood until he was seated ; it was a 
recognition of the majesty of the law that seemed to me 
respectful and dignified. 

Opposite the table at which the clerk was seated was an- 
other door marked in conspicuous black leters : "For Pris- 
oners Only." When Sir John Bridge had taken his seat 
this door opened and the defendants filed in ; Dr. Leander 
Starr Jameson, Major Sir John Christopher Willoughby, 
Col. Raleigh Grey, Major the Hon. R. White, Major John 
B. Stracey, Major C. H. Villiers, Captain K. J. Kincaid- 
Smith, Lieut. H. M. Grenfell, Capt. C. P. Foley, Capt. C. 
L. D. Monroe, Capt. C. F. Lindsell, Capt. E. C. S. Holden, 
Major the Hon. Charles John Coventry and Capt. Audley 
Vaughan Gosling. Two rows of chairs had been placed 
for them outside the bar, upon the main floor, facing the 
bench, and to these they were conducted by Jailer White, 
Dr. Jameson at the head of the file and Major, the Hon. 



The Jameson Trial 211 

Charles John Coventry, bringing up the rear. All were 
bronzed by exposure to the African wind and sun ; all were 
faultlessly dressed, and, with one or two exceptions, 
their demeanor was composed and well-bred. Dr. 
Jameson was very grave and he, alone, was some- 
what ill at ease. As he entered the court room 3 
dark flush mounted to his forehead, which slowly faded 
as he walked to his chair and seated himself with great 
deliberateness. He was a man somewhat below medium 
height, with a huge head carried a little to one side, show- 
ing a remarkable breadth of brow; the eyes were large, 
dark and sufficiently expressive, when not concealed by the 
heavy drooping lids that were frequently half, or wholly, 
closed ; the nose was prominent and large and rather sym- 
metrical, the chin and mouth indicated decided firmness; 
the whole expression and demeanor of the man evinced 
fearlessness that would be disposed to express itself in 
deeds rather than word's. He, too, was carefully dressed 
in a dark frock coat and trousers, a spotless, white neck- 
tie and pale grey gloves — the conventional morning dress 
of an English gentleman. He walked with a heavy une- 
lastic tread and a slightly swinging carriage, and sat much 
of the time obliquely in his chair, one cheek resting upon 
his elegantly gloved hand ; his glance was often cast down 
or fixed at rare intervals upon his counsel, Sir Edward 
Clarke ; not once during the day, so far as I could observe, 
did he give more than a passing look at the witnesses upon 
the stand; to whatever was being drawn out of them he 
seemed quitein different, and, except for that first dull 
flush, he was equally oblivious of the spectators about him 
to whom he was a manifest object of interest. Such 
was the hero of one of the most daring raids in all the 
annals of border warfare ; to all appearance a quiet, mod- 
est gentleman, in faultless and fashionable dress, with 
civilian stamped upon him from head to foot, and who 



212 A Looker On in London 

would have been recognized anywhere as the circumspect, 
model family physician. He seemed pre-eminently a man 
to whom healing of wounds was far more congenial and 
better suited than blood-letting with Maxim guns and 
Lee-Metford rifles, after the manner which he had so 
rashly undertaken. 

A certain romance was associated with Major Coven- 
try ; he had been reported among the dead after the battle 
of Dornkoop, and a memorial service had been an- 
nounced, to be held in the parish church at Croome, the 
residence of his father, the Earl of Coventry. On the 
evening preceding this service, the error was corrected and 
when it was learned that Major Coventry had been 
wounded, but was still living and would recover, the ar- 
rangements were hurriedly altered and a thanksgiving 
service was held, instead. His parents had received in- 
numerable letters and messages of condolence, and Major 
Coventry was one of the few who had the doubtful 
privilege of reading his own obituary notice. He, too, was 
bronzed and tanned, but on the other hand showed little 
evidence, either of his wounds or his long journey. He, 
alone, of the thirteen defendants was disposed to take the 
situation humorously. And, aside from this facetiousness, 
which seemed a little ill-timed, he was a typical guards- 
man, tall, broad-shouldered with a marked military bear- 
ing. By some juggle of fate he appeared to have changed 
places with the mild and unaggressive physician; judging 
from appearances alone, one would have selected him as 
the leader, and would have said that Dr. Jameson accom- 
panied the expedition against his sober judgment, solely 
to minister to the needs of men who might require his 
professional services. While Dr. Jameson sat indifferent 
and impassive, Coventry smiled frequently and laughed 
inaudibly whenever he was especially amused by any por- 
tion of the evidence. The fashionable audience was such 



The Jameson Trial 2 1 3 

as might have been seen at a morning concert at St. James, 
or at a private view at the Royal Academy, and was ac- 
centuated by the uniformed police, the motley crowd of 
witnesses who sat behind the defendants — mere tad's 
many of them — who blushed like school-girls when they 
stooped to kiss the Bible as the oath was administered. 
The one exception to this shy and embarrassed group was 
Inspector Brown, a middle-aged soldier, rather grave and 
stern of countenance. It was very apparent that the wit- 
nesses for the defense were nerved up to the highest 
pitch of excitement; but, nevertheless, they too exhib- 
ited perfect self-control and were resolutely on their 
guard, determined, even while mindful of their oath, 
that nothing should divert their vigilance or betray 
them into making statements, if it could be avoided, 
that should prove damaging to their leader. There 
was a pronounced esprit du corps among them which 
they made no effort to conceal. They shook hands 
cordially when they met, like doughty heroes in a 
common cause, advised by some officious individual who 
conspicuously marshalled them to and from their places ; 
as each man was summoned to the witness stand this 
friend patted him encouragingly on the shoulder, gave 
his hand a furtive grasp, whispered in his ear, and when 
he was dismissed and rejoined his comrades, openly and 
heartily congratulated him upon the manner in which he 
had acquitted himself. 

The prosecution was conducted by the Attorney-Gen- 
eral, Sir Richard Webster, Q. C, M. P., Sir Charles Mat- 
thews, Mr. Horace Avory and Mr. Fulton. The counsel 
for the defense were Sir Edward Clarke, Q. C, M. P., Sir 
Frank Lockwood, Q. C, M. P., Mr. E. H. Carson, Q. C, 
M. P., and Mr. C. F. Gill. In addition to this imposing 
array of eminent men, Mr. Howard Spensley appeared for 
Dr. Jameson, the Hon. Alfred Lyttleton for Sir John Wil- 



214 A Looker On in London 

loughby, Col. H. F. White and Major Robert White ; Mr. 
Roskill for Major Coventry and Captain Gosling; the oth- 
ers also having retained special counsel. 

The chief strength of the English bar — a body of the 
profoundest learning and of the highest professional skill, 
were thus arrayed upon one side or the other, in one of the 
greatest political causes that had been appealed to the 
courts of Great Britain since the days of Warren Has- 
tings. It was what was known as a trial at bar, that is, a 
trial before a special bench, and it was the third that had 
occurred within the century. 

It was one of the idiosyncrasies of the law which, the 
world over, abounds in perplexing technicalities — pits for 
the feet of the unwary and loopholes of escape for the 
cunning — that there had been some difficulty in ascertain- 
ing the precise nature of the offense which had been com- 
mitted ; a deed of 'such magnitude had not been anticipated 
in any existing statutes, and, like the secession of our 
Southern States, no adequate penalty had been found for 
the unforeseen conspiracy. It was none the less patent that 
men holding the Queen's commission had marched with 
an armed force into the territory of a friendly people ; a 
battle had ensued in which twenty lives had been lost, as 
nearly as could be ascertained, and the government had 
been involved not only in costly litigation, but in an inter- 
national dispute where heavy and justifiable indemnity 
would be demanded, and which would require many 
months and, possibly years, finally to adjust. 

It was at length decided that the case came properly 
within this section of the Foreign Enlistment Act which 
had been adopted in 1870 and was in force throughout 
British territory in South Africa : 

"If any person within the limits of Her Majesty's do- 
minion, without the license of Her Majesty, prepares or 
fits out a naval or military expedition to proceed against 



The Jameson Trial 2 1 5 

the friendly dominion of any friendly state he shall be li- 
able to a fine and to imprisonment not exceeding two 
years ;" any person aiding or abetting such an expedition 
was liable to the same penalty. 

When the defendants were seated and the witnesses 
were in readiness to be summoned to the witness stand as 
they were required, there was a subdued hum of conversa- 
tion, the general air about the court room being decidedly 
cheerful and s'ocial. Many of the spectators present were 
known to each other, and exchanged compliments and in- 
quiries as if they were at an "At Home" in Belgravia, or 
visiting between the acts of an opera. The Duke of Aber- 
corn sat at the right of the Magistrate, a man with deli- 
cately chiseled features and an expression of marked clev- 
erness, quietly and tastefully dressed with a shamrock in 
his buttonhole. He listened with the greatest attention 
for five hours, as became the Chairman of the British 
South African Company, which was practically almost as 
much upon trial as Dr. Jameson, and his confederates. 
There had been no demonstration of any sort, this time, 
when the defendants appeared, the stern rebuke which the 
Magistrate had administered at the arraignment being 
doubtless fresh in the minds of those who were present; 
several women looked at the men steadily and unabashed 
through opera glasses, a scrutiny which the victims en- 
dured unflinchingly. Once or twice, when the testimony 
took a humorous turn, there was a ripple of laughter in 
which few of the prisoners, except Major Coventry, 
joined. This, with a slight stir around the door as tele- 
graph messengers came and went, was instantly silenced 
by an admonitory "S-s-s-s-h," and the people thus cau- 
tioned, obeyed with the prompt obedience of tractable chil- 
dren. As the hours wore on, the defendants showed signs 
of weariness; Dr. Jameson's head drooped heavily and 
now and then he sighed as he shifted his position. Col. 



216 A Looker On in London 

Willoughby and Col. White leaned forward, each with 
his face in his hands, and, occasionally one of the women 
on the bench rose and stood a moment, apparently to ob- 
tain a better view. The first words uttered were a sharp 
passage at arms between Sir George Lewis and Sir Ed- 
ward Clarke. Sir George Lewis turned to the bench and 
explained to the Magistrate that he had been instructed to 
appear on behalf of the South African Company. To this 
Sir Edward Clarke retorted, as if questioning the state- 
ment "Sir George Lewis appears here, as a spectator. It 
is pleasant to see him, but he has nothing to do with the 
case." To this the Magistrate replied with great courtesy 
and forbearance : 

"I understand that he is here to watch," and to this Sir 
George responded politely : "Thank you, Sir John." 

The Crown proceeded first, to establish the fact that the 
raid had been planned and in contemplation for some 
months, extensive preparations having been made to insure 
its success. Thefirst witness called was Sidney George Buck, 
a mere slip of a lad whose parents lived in Surrey ; and 
nothing could have exceeded his stubborn intention not to 
utter a single word more than was forcibly extorted by 
the ordeal of the examination and the cross-examination 
that followed. As he took his place on the stand he was 
the embodiment of alertness, and his eye never wandered 
for a moment; he stood erect and looked his examiner, 
Mr. Sutton, straight in the face. As often as it was pos- 
sible he answered simply "yes" and "no ;" occasionally he 
paused as if weighing consequences, and giving himself 
time to discover if there were not some means of evading 
the question propounded, within the limits of his oath to 
tell "the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth." 
His replies were uttered in a perfectly distinct tone, as mo- 
notonous as the continued repetition of the monosyllable 
in which they were conveyed. The gist of his evidence 



The Jameson Trial 217 

was that he had joined the Bechuanaland police force in 
1895 in which he had been made sergeant, and which had 
been commanded by Col. Henry White; the force had 
been divided into troops, A. B. and C, the latter having 
eight Maxim guns and one twelve-pounder. Captain 
Stracey was troop commander and they had been ordered 
to march South. They arrived at Pitsani Potlugo, the 
first week in December, the other troops following and 
the artillery bringing up the rear. Before leaving Bulu- 
wayo their rifles had been changed, and carbines substi- 
tuted for these at Potsani. At the latter place he saw Col. 
White, Sir John Willoughby, Captain Stracey and other 
officers, all of whom he named, and they remained at Pit- 
sani throughout the month of December. On Sunday, the 
28th of December, the troops were drawn up and formed 
in squares, but he was not present, and a letter from Dr. 
Jameson was read. The troops marched that evening. He 
was asked if he knew where they were going. 

Sir Edward Clarke, for the defense, sharply objected to 
this, but the witness made a tacit confession that he did 
know ; and that he had been told "by others." They had 
taken with them one day's rations and reached Malmani 
at day-break where they were joined by 120 men, all the 
staff officers being present. The order of march after 
leaving Malmani was : scouts in front, an advance guard, 
rear guard, and flanking columns. When asked what this 
order was called, technically, he replied : 

"I do not know." 

There were eight Maxims for the column, one seven- 
pounder and the twelve-pounder. The horses were fed 
during the halt at Malmani, the feed having been obtained 
at stores along the road. A limited supply of tinned 
meats, and the like, was procured for the men, and twenty- 
five miles from Malmani forage was again obtained, with 
provisions for the troops at a store similar to that at Mai- 



2i 8 A Looker On in London 

mani. The column had marched incessantly on the 29th 
halting in the evening. On Tuesday they again marched 
until sundown. The capture of Captain Eloff of the 
South African Republic police was the chief incident of 
Tuesday. The witness was asked if he could recall an- 
other incident that occurred about midnight, and he re- 
plied quietly: 

"Yes." 

When he was asked to state what this incident was he 
replied concisely : 

"The Boers fired on us." 

The examiner then wanted to know, plainly, if this was 
the first that he had seen of the Boers and the witness 
again said : "Yes." 

Sir Edward Clarke, keenly intent upon the examina- 
tion, quickly interposed: 

"It was midnight ; |jow could he see them ?" 

But the lad said that they had not seen them before, and 
when fired upon, they returned the fire, a speech which 
moved Major Coventry to laughter. It also raised sym- 
pathetic and deferential laughter in the court which was 
instantly silenced by the uplifted hand and the official 
"S-s-sh." On being asked what the Boers did in retalia- 
tion the young man said simply : 

"They got out of the way as quickly as they could," at 
which there was more laughter, this also, being at once sup- 
pressed. The witness then continued his story, stating that 
after this encounter with the Boers the troops halted for 
the night. The march was resumed Wednesday morning 
and at noon that day they reached a small hotel about four 
miles from Krugersdorp; there they found sixty or sev- 
enty Boers. 

"Were they troopers?" asked the Magistrate. 

"Yes, mounted men," was the reply. 

On meeting them, the witness stated, the columns halted 



The Jameson Trial 219 

and the guns were brought up. He believed that the 
Boers fired first, and remembered that the fire was re- 
turned. When asked, 

"What became of the Boers?" he replied with his for- 
mer conciseness : 

"They went." 

At this, Major Coventry again laughed heartily, but his 
humor was hardly in keeping with the suppressed anxiety 
which, by this time, disturbed the assumed nonchalance of 
the witness. A few Boers, it was explained, had been seen 
at a mine near Krugersdorp. The mine was shelled for 
half an hour by the order of Col. White, who had planned 
to take possession of it and the fire was not returned. 
When asked if it was a hot fire the witness replied guard- 
edly : 

"Yes; pretty warm," and at this Dr. Jameson smiled 
faintly, for the first time. 

At three o'clock in the afternoon the troops dismounted 
and lay down, making no further effort to approach the 
mine. The witness himself remained dismounted until 
sunset, lying down during the firing. Later in the evening 
the columns drew off and marched in what direction he 
did not know. His horse was shot, he became separated 
from the troop and retraced his steps over the hills on 
foot. In the morning he again heard firing and went in 
that direction, having walked about all night. On Tues- 
day morning he found himself in the vicinity of the mines 
at Johannesburg. The firing ended suddenly; he then 
changed his dress and having learned of the surrender of 
Dr. Jameson's forces, he went to Krugersdorp thence to 
Johannesburg and Cape Colony. This information was 
not given by the witness in any sort of a connected narra- 
tive, but was pieced together from the inquiries put to him 
by the examiner to whom, whenever it was possible, he 
answered "yes" or "no;" "I cannot say," "I could not 



220 A Looker On in London 

say," or "I do.not know." But the questions, in themselves, 
indicated very thorough knowledge of the case on the 
part of the prosecution. The evidence was not materially 
varied in the long and minute cross-examination which 
followed, and which was conducted by Sir Edward Clarke 
himself, nor did the Attorney-General, Sir Richard Web- 
ster's re-examination secure any new facts or any altera- 
tion in those already included in the first statement. 

The second witness, Philip Leopold Hill, testified that 
he had seen Dr. Jameson and had heard him say that they 
were going to Johannesburg to protect the women and 
children; that they would have the aid of the Cape 
Mounted Rifles, and the Natal Mounted Police, although 
he hoped that they would be able to push through without 
fighting, before the Boers had time to collect. They were 
promised re-mounts, stores of food and were to be joined 
by the Bechuanaland Mounted Police. This was stated 
in a speech which Dr. Jameson delivered to the men and 
he also read from a letter which he held in his hand at the 
time. He said that he wanted to reach Johannesburg in 
forty-eight hours. The witness admitted that the volun- 
teers were "all sorts of people," and said that he, himself, 
had seen "two sailors and some waiters." 

This confession as to the Falstafnan character of Dr. 
Jameson's forces again disturbed the gravity of the court. 
The letter which had been seen in Dr. Jameson's posses- 
sion was identified and was read aloud. It was as fol- 
lows : 

Johannesburg, Dec. 20, 1895. 
Dr. Jameson — 

Dear Sir: The position of matters in this state has 
become so critical that we are assured that at no distant 
period there will be a conflict between the government and 
the Uitlander population. It is scarcely necessary for us 
to recapitulate what is now a matter of history. Suffice 



The Jameson Trial 221 

it to say that the position of thousands of Englishmen is 
rapidly becoming intolerable. Not satisfied with making 
the Uitlander population pay virtually the whole of the 
revenue of the country, while denying them representa- 
tion, the policy of the government has been steadily to 
encroach upon the liberty of the subject and to undermine 
the security for property to such an extent as to cause a 
very deep-seated sense of discontent and danger. A for- 
eign corporation of Hollanders is to a cosiderable extent 
controlling our destinies and, in conjunction with the Boer 
leader, endeavoring to cast them in a mold which is wholly 
foreign to the genius of the people. Every public act be- 
trays the most 'positive hostility, not only to everything 
English, but with the neighboring states as well. In short, 
the internal policy of the government is such as to have 
raised into antagonism to it, not only practically the whole 
body of Uitlanders, but a large number of Boers, while its 
external policy has exasperated the neighboring states, 
causing the possibility of great danger to the peace and 
independence of this great republic. Public feeling is in 
a condition of smouldering discontent ; all the petitions of 
the people have been refused, with a greater or less degree 
of contempt, and in the debate on the franchise petition 
signed by nearly forty thousand people, one member chal- 
lenged the Uitlanders to fight for the rights they asked 
for, and not a single member spoke against him. Not to 
go into detail, we may say that the government has called 
into existence all the elements for armed conflict. The one 
desire of the people here is for fair play, the maintenance 
of their independence, and the preservation of those pub- 
lic liberties without which life is not worth living. The 
government denies these things and violates the national 
sense of Englishmen at every turn. What we have to con- 
sider is, what will be the condition of things here in the 
event of conflict. Thousands of unarmed men, women 



222 A Looker On in London 

and children of our race will be at the mercy of well- 
armed Boers, while property of enormous value will be in 
the greatest peril. We cannot contemplate the future 
without the gravest apprehension, and feel that we are 
justified in taking any steps to prevent the shedding of 
blood and insure the protection of our rights. It is under 
these circumstances that we feel constrained to call upon 
you to come to our aid, should a disturbance arise here. 
The circumstances are so extreme that we cannot avoid 
this step, and we cannot believe but that you, and the men 
under you, will not fail to come to the rescue of people 
who will be so situated. We guarantee any expenses that 
may be reasonably incurred by you in helping us, and ask 
you to believe nothing but the sternest necessity has 
prompted this appeal. We are, 

Yours faithfully, 

Charles Leonard. 

Francis Rhodes. 

Lionel Phillips. 

John Hays Hammond. 

George Farrar. 

There was some discussion over the propriety of read- 
ing this letter to which Sir Richard Webster finally 
consented. 

But little evidence was brought out in the examination 
of the remaining witnesses called to the stand that day. 
Charles Henry Ribson testified that, in their encounter 
with the Boers, seventeen men had been killed and the 
survivors who surrendered were taken to Pretoria. John 
William Brown, Inspector of the Police, said that, sus- 
pecting Dr. Jameson, he had watched his forces and saw 
them enter the Transvaal. He then sent a dispatch to the 
authorities at Mafeking which had involved a ride of fifty 
miles on horseback to Manbigo, the nearest station, as the 



The Jameson Trial 223 

telegraph wires had been cut. This dispatch was identi- 
fied by the next witness, Ernest Ormonde Butler. Five 
copies had been made of it. It was as follows : "From the 
High Commissioner to the President Commissioner, Cape 
Town, 30th, December, 1895. — It is rumored here that Dr. 
Jameson has entered the Transvaal with an armed force. 
Is this so? If so, send official messenger on fast horses, 
ordering him to return immediately. A copy of this tele- 
gram should be sent to the officers with him, and they 
should be told that this violation of the territory of a 
friendly state is repudiated by Her Majesty's government, 
and that they are rendering themselves liable to severe 
penalties." 

The witness had been orderly-room sergeant in the 
Bechuanaland police. He had also seen a copy of the fol- 
lowing letter which had been addressed to Dr. Jameson by 
the resident Magistrate : 

"Sir : I have the honor to enclose a copy of a telegram 
that I have received from the High Commissioner. I have 
accordingly to request that you immediately comply with 
His Excellency's instructions. I am, etc., yours, 

"J. Newton, 
"Resident Magistrate." 

A copy of this telegram was enclosed in letters to Major 
Coventry, Captain Monroe and Captain Gosling, but the 
witness was uncertain as to Sir John Willoughby. 

The Attorney-General then stated that the evidence of 
the next witness would be very lengthy and the Judge con- 
sented to postpone hearing it until the following week. As 
the court adjourned, and the defendants drove away in 
cabs waiting for them at the Bow street entrance of the 
court, a great crowd was collected along the sidewalk op- 
posite, extending for some distance up and down the 
street; there were admiring exclamations, but no demon- 



224 A Looker On in London 

strations were made. The first outburst of popular en- 
thusiasm was over and the public, regaining their common 
sense, were beginning to take a rational view of the case. 

The week following, March 24th, the hearing was re- 
sumed as had been decided upon. The scenes enacted in 
and around the court were a repetition of the first day. The 
same care was exercised as to the admission of spectators, 
the same newspaper reporters with their carbon paper and 
sharpened lead pencils, were present, even the "lady 
journalist" was in her old place, and, as before, jotted 
down occasional observations in her little Russia leather 
note-book. 

A youth with a sallow complexion, a huge nose and a 
sloping forehead, arrayed in the most correct morning 
dress, had a conspicuous seat with which he was not 
pleased, and he called one of the polite good-tempered 
policemen, and taking out his card with an air of great im- 
portance ordered the officer "to hand that to the Attorney- 
General." He also sent a card to the Magistrate, which 
was passed from hand to hand; after a little delay the 
policeman returned and said something very indefinite 
about "a better place afterwards." The young man was 
observed, subsequently, not occupying a better place, but 
squeezed in amongst a dozen swarthy Africanders and ap- 
parently unable to extricate himself; he did not return 
after luncheon. Those who had been invited to sit upon 
the bench arrived in g'ay parties ; the space at the rear was 
again packed by men and women who stood throughout 
the session. The Duke of Abercorn was present and 
deeply interested as before. The counsel were rather dila- 
tory, and it was a quarter past eleven when the prisoner's 
door opened through which the defendants entered. Dr. 
Jameson's demeanor was unchanged, except that he ap- 
peared somewhat more weary and dejected than before. 
He was dressed with the same care, and as he crossed the 



The Jameson Trial 225 

threshold into the court room, once more the focus of in- 
quisitive eyes, he again blushed painfully. He was 
seriously out of health, and his condition had been aggra- 
vated by the smoke and fog of London. Throughout that 
morning he looked frequently at the witnesses, but during 
the long examination and cross-examination of Mr. John 
Thomas White he closed his eyes and appeared to sleep. 
In its repose the face was troubled and melancholy, and 
one studied the heavy features in vain, for any trace of 
the martial spirit that had conceived the rash enterprise, 
which began so romantically in the Transvaal to terminate 
prosaically in Bow street and Holloway jail. From time 
to time throughout the day, amusing incidents occurred ; 
but so far as he was concerned, they passed unheeded, and 
Sir John Willoughby, Col. White and Col. Grey, who sat 
near him, were almost as grave as their leader. Captain 
Coventry, although it was said he still suffered from the 
effects of his wound which had so nearly proved fatal, was 
in his accustomed high good humor, laughing and joking 
sotto voce, and finding undiminished diversion in his sur- 
roundings. 

The first witness that day was Francis William Penzera, 
fresh from the hands of a Bond street tailor, with a 
gardenia in his buttonhole. He was a major in the 
Bechuanaland Border Police, an Engineer and Superin- 
tendent of Public Works in Bechuanaland and the British 
Protectorate north of Bechuanaland to the Matabele bor- 
der. He kissed the Bible when it was presented to him 
with much grace and dignity, very different from the awk- 
ward dive at the book which was made by the next wit- 
ness. His testimony related chiefly to the topography of 
the country, and his readiness to make extended explana- 
tions was very different from the reticence of the wit- 
nesses who had preceded him. His evidence involved a 
tedious examination of maps on the part of the counsel, 



226 A Looker On in London 

and at intervals he was interrupted by the clerk, Mr. 
Cavendish, who asked him to spell difficult South African 
names like "Rametlhabama Spruit." He complied with 
the request and spelled name after name without a mo- 
ment's hesitation — a rather remarkable feat, considering 
their length and their abounding consonants. In addition 
to this he displayed, not only a thorough knowledge of the 
country, but of the natives. He stated emphatically that 
the subsidy granted the projected railway to Bulywayo 
by the Chartered Company had been withdrawn, and he 
was unable to say when the line would be completed. 

Another witness, a man named Canning, was recalled to 
testify as to the amount of ammunition which Dr. Jame- 
son's forces had left when they surrendered, which he said 
was "about one-fourth." This was emphatically denied, 
half audibly, by one of the Chartered Company's partisans 
who sat quite near me. 

"That's a mistake !" he exclaimed, "We did not have an 
ounce." When asked by Sir Edward Clarke if he, Can- 
ning himself, had any ammunition left he replied with con- 
siderable temper: "No." 

John Thomas White, whose evidence consumed the re- 
mainder of the morning, was tall and spare, bronzed like 
his comrades. His manner, however, was very different ; 
and where they had stood erect and composed, he twisted 
from side to side, leaning forward over the edge of the 
witness stand and then catching the supports in either 
hand and leaning backwards, as if he were going through 
some sort of gymnastic exercise, for the expansion of his 
chest. The Magistrate watched his gyrations with a some- 
what puzzled expression, and one expected momentarily to 
hear him request the young man to stand still ; but that 
probably would have been a breach of official decorum, -and 
the gymnastics continued for two or three hours — until 
the witness was dismissed. 



The Jameson Trial 227 

His story was by far the most dramatic that had been 
related, by any of the preceding witnesses, and this, like 
the rest was secured piece-meal, bit by bit, sentence by 
sentence. Sergeant White was a no less important per- 
son than the messenger who had been sent out to order 
Jameson to desist from carrying out the contemplated 
raid. He described, in a very straightforward manner, 
scenes and events in the Transvaal after the expedition 
had been set on foot—the deserted stores where they ob- 
tained seemingly abundant supplies for themselves and 
forage for their horses ; the armed Boers whom he met 
and by whom he was stopped and disarmed. He first ex- 
plained how he was approached with inducements to leave 
the Bechuanaland Mounted Police and join the Chartered 
Company's forces. From this portion of the evidence, an 
impression was left upon the mind of those present that 
the officers holding commissions in the British army had 
encouraged vigorous recruiting, inducing White and others 
to leave the troops in which they had enlisted and to 
which they properly belonged, to join the forces organized 
for the raid. Sergeant White said upon this point that 
Major Coventry, Captain Gosling and others had offered 
him promotion if he would come over to them, but he had 
declined. 

"Are you married or single?" he was asked. 
"Harried/' he replied ; then he added with unconscious 
naivete, "I told Captain Gosling that I was a married man 
and could not afford to knock about in those irregular 

corps." 

This blunt estimate of Dr. Jameson's troops was greeted 
with a roar of laughter ; even the Magistrate smiled and 
Coventry was convulsed. The only persons who failed to 
appreciate its humor were Dr. Jameson and his sober- 
visaged associates on the front row of chairs. 

A division was finally made, the witness explained, 



228 A Looker On in London 

when order was restored, and men like himself who re- 
fused to join the Chartered Company's troops, were trans- 
ferred to what was called F Troop. This was ordered 
to parade at half past eight o'clock in the evening of 
December 29th. They were then marched between two 
hundred and three hundred yards from the main body by 
Major Coventry. Sergeant White made another state- 
ment which produced a subdued sensation. The destina- 
tion of the expedition had been kept secret, and two or 
three of the men who had been asked to volunteer in- 
quired : 

"Are you going to fight for the Queen?" 

Col. Grey replied : 

"No; we are going to fight for the supremacy of the 
British flag in South Africa." 

This astounding speech was followed by a pause, in 
which there was silence and even Coventry's eye fell — the 
first seriousness that he had displayed. The statement 
that the real purpose of the expedition was not generally 
known, was repeated; their orders were to proceed to 
Johannesburg, which they were told they must reach in 
fifty hours — orders that were given by Major Coventry. 
All the men who were willing to go were ordered to ride 
out to the front. As he and several others remained be- 
hind, Col. Grey came up and said: 

"What is the matter with you men? Why don't you 
come ?" 

And when they were told that they were to fight, not 
for the Queen, but for the supremacy of the British flag 
in South Africa, twelve or fifteen men went over. The 
column commanded by Col. White, Major Coventry, Cap- 
tain Gosling and Captain Monroe, finally left at ten o'clock 
in the evening of December 29th. About thirty officers 
and men who declined to go remained in the camp. 

On the afternoon of December 30th Sergeant White was 



The Jameson Trial 229 

ordered to go to the orderly room where he found Captain 
Walford, Adjutant of the Bechuanaland Border Police 
and Mr. Newton, Commissioner for the Protectorate. He 
was asked by the Commissioner if he would carry a dis- 
patch to Col. Grey in the Transvaal, making the journey 
unarmed, but wearing the uniform of the Bechuanaland 
Border Police. He consented to go if given a pass. He 
was asked by the examiner if he could recall the wording 
of the pass and he replied: 

"Yes," it said : "To all whom it may concern : this is to 
pass Sergeant White, of the Bechuanaland Border Police, 
who is carrying dispatches from the High Commissioner 
to Dr. Jameson." 

He went to the hotel in Mafeking where a packet was 
given him ; it was tied up in waterproof and there was no 
address on the cover. He was told to give this into the 
hands of "the Colonel"— not Dr. Jameson. He was left 
to infer that Col. White was meant; his name was not 
mentioned, and he was ordered to "reach the column at 
any cost and not to spare his horse." He left Mafeking 
between 2 and 2 : 30 o'clock on Monday afternoon, De- 
cember 30th, the road having been designated, the distance 
from Mafeking to the Transvaal border being about 
twelve miles. After crossing the border he was stopped by 
ten armed Boers who took him to the house of Field Cor- 
net Low at Molofo where the dispatches were taken from 
him ; after some indecision they were given back and he 
was' finally allowed to proceed under an armed escort. 
They rode all night passing two armed men, with two 
Kaffirs mounted on horses branded "C. C." They obtained 
food and forage for their horses at two deserted stores, 
then rode a distance of eighty miles and came up with the 
column the next morning, still under escort. The packet 
which contained five letters was given to Col. Grey who 
ordered him to turn them over to Col. Willoughby and 



230 A Looker On in London 

he in turn sent the messenger with them to Dr. Jameson. 
Dr. Jameson also refused to receive them and sent White 
back to Col. Willboughby who, he said, was in command. 
The letters were finally delivered amongst the officers, and 
he was told to wait an hour for an answer. Notwithstand- 
ing the fact that the letters had been read, the column 
mounted at noon and proceeded on its march to Johannes- 
burg. They had 300 fresh horses and he was asked to 
take the tired horses, some 290 branded "C. C," back to 
Mafeking, and six Cape boys were promised him by Col. 
Grey to help look after them. Before they started, half an 
hour after the column had left, twenty armed Boers rode 
up and posted a guard around the kraal where the horses 
were collected. Sergeant White started back to Mafek- 
ing, still unarmed, and three hours after sunset met a 
Boer officer with 300 men who had come from Rusten- 
burg, taken possession of the stores and were pursuing 
Jameson's column. They had captured the Kaffirs whom 
he had met with the mounted police, the night before. 

John Frank Jones was called at this point in the narra- 
tive to identify the signature of Dr. Jameson that had been 
affixed to a letter, which, however, he had not written. 

The cross-examination was conducted by Sir Edward 
Clarke and, contrasted with the somewhat brusque and 
direct method of the Attorney-General, his manner was 
suavity itself. He was a stout man, rather short of stature, 
with strong irregular features and thin lips which, in re- 
pose were tightly compressed. In the cross-examination 
Sergeant White was not quite so definite as he had been 
at first respecting the horses, which he had been asked to 
take back to Mafeking ; he thought of the entire number 
perhaps one-third were fresh. 

"You did not examine them closely," the Magistrate 
asked in his mild voice. 



The Jameson Trial 231 

"I did not examine them carefully, but I should think 
that one-third were fresh." 

Aside from this slight and unimportant discrepancy, the 
story which Sir Edward Clarke drew from the witness 
was the same that had been told the Attorney-General. 

When he had finished the court took a short recess for 
luncheon, and rather a singular thing occurred. Through- 
Out the morning it had been difficult to either see or hear 
the witnesses from the seat which I occupied, the view be- 
ing obstructed by those who were standing. At last I 
also rose, when a tall, fair-haired young man, neatly 
though not fastidiously dressed, sitting on one of the front 
benches, rose also, and begged me to take his seat, which I 
hesitated to do. He politely insisted, and I then sat down 
while he stepped into the place I had vacated. When the 
court convened, after the recess, I apologized for having 
deprived him of his place and he replied : 

"O you were quite welcome to it." Then he removed 
his hat and continued to talk, with a certain diffidence, for 
several minutes. Presently the name of Barend Daniel 
Bouwer was called and the young man rose and walked 
to the witness stand. 

Another man, rather untidy and much embarrassed, 
took his place in a vacant space between the witness stand 
and the counsel. This proved to be the interpreter and 
the whole of Mr. Bouwer's testimony was given in Dutch 
and was translated by this interpreter. When chatting 
with me his English seemed so perfect, both in accent and 
in fluency, that I could not have supposed he was other 
than an educated Englishman. The young Boer's man- 
ner was modest and pleasing ; there was nothing to indi- 
cate that rudeness and coarseness which certain chroniclers 
have attributed to his race ; his bearing was that of an in- 
telligent and well-bred man. He spoke in tones so low 
that it was almost impossible to hear him, and, although 



232 A Looker On in London 

his speech was perfectly unintelligible, the Attorney-Gen- 
eral felt impelled at last to ask him "if he could not speak 
louder." 

The Dutch vernacular, from the lips of the interpreter, 
was very harsh and guttural and much interspersed with 
English. When he asked the witness if he went east or 
west he said : 

"Oost or west?" 

Bouwer testified that he was a clerk in the office of 
General Joubert, Commander-in-chief of the forces of the 
South African Republic. He knew Sir Jacobus de Wet, 
the British representative at Pretoria. On December 31st, 
he had received orders to look up two Africanders to take 
a dispatch to Dr. Jameson ; he was asked to define the term 
"Africander." 

"It is a Dutch resident who is entitled to vote," he re- 
plied, in his native tongue, which was put into English by 
the interpreter. He found one, he said, but could not find 
two. 

"What !" exclaimed Sir Edward Clarke with the suavest 
irony, "You could not find two ?" 

Bouwer colored with embarrassment at the laughter 
which this occasioned among the friends of the Chartered 
Company, and in which the Judge and the Duke of Aber- 
corn and a few of the defendants also joined. Presently 
Bouwer resumed his story and said that he was ordered 
to go to Sir Jacobus de Wet and was informed that he 
was the man to carry a letter which was given him. He 
was told to .place it in Dr. Jameson's hands and although 
the British representative did not know where Jameson 
was, Bouwer was told to ride in the direction of Rusten- 
burg ; nothing was said about Krugersdorp. Bouwer was 
accordingly given the letter and shortly after noon accom- 
panied by the one Africander who had been detailed to ac- 
company him, rode in the direction of Rustenburg as he 



The Jameson Trial 233 

was ordered. He was asked' where he came up with 
Jameson's forces and, through the medium of the treble- 
voiced interpreter, replied : 

"Close to the spot called Van Nit Hooriswinkle Spruit, 
or Van Nit Hooriswinkel." 

"You had best get that right," said the Attorney-Gen- 
eral, and not unreasonably, addressing the clerk of the 
court ; "Have you got it, Mr. Cavendish ?" 

Mr. Cavendish, who sat at his desk behind the rail 
which separated the officials of the court from the au- 
dience, wrote rapidly for a moment, then critically in- 
spected his work, after which, with something of an air 
of relief, he replied in the affirmative. This caused another 
laugh at which the witness and the interpreter smiled 
deprecatingly. The humor of the incident, failed, as usual, 
to amuse Dr. Jameson. 

Van Nit Hooriswinkle Spruit, Bouwer explained, after 
Mr. Cavendish had finished dotting his "iV and crossing 
his "t's," was eighteen miles northwest from Krugersdorp. 
When he reached the column they had halted ; he, the wit- 
ness, was unarmed and dressed in civilian's clothes. He 
asked a sentry where Dr. Jameson was and was told that 
he was in camp. He was allowed to proceed and met an 
officer whom he could not identify among the defendants, 
who asked his name, and was then taken to Dr. Jameson's 
house. 

"Is that gentleman sitting at the end of the row Dr. 
Jameson?" asked the Attorney-General. 

Bouwer leaned forward an instant, looked down at Dr. 
Jameson, who turned his face toward the witness that he 
might be more readily identified. 

Then Bouwer replied : "Yes." 

"What did you say to him ?" he was asked. 

"I said," replied Bouwer, "I have a letter for you from 
Sir Jacobus de Wet," and he explained that he spoke Eng- 



234 A Looker On in London 

lish. At the request of the Attorney-General he repeated 
the statement in English, just as he had made it to Dr. 
Jameson, and he did this so readily and intelligibly that 
the Magistrate remarked in rather a surprised tone: 

"You speak English very well." 

Bouwer smiled at the compliment, but continued to give 
his testimony in Dutch. 

"Dr. Jameson read the letter," he went on, "and said he 
would give me a letter to take back." 

It was written while Bouwer went out to look after 
his horse and given him when he returned. He had no 
further conversation with Dr. Jameson, and rode away 
accompanied by the Africander, who was afterwards dis- 
covered by a number of men whom they met, and who 
would not allow them to proceed. Bouwer went back, and 
this occurrence was reported to Dr. Jameson, who at once 
mounted his horse and rode with the witness to the place 
where he had been detained. Jameson told him that he 
thought he had been stopped by Col. White, and added : 

"If Col. White will not let you go on you will have to 
go with the troops to Johannesburg." The Africander ob- 
jected to this, and said that it was not right for the Char- 
tered Company's forces to stop the messengers on their 
return ; that Col. White had no right either to stop them 
or keep them prisoners. 

At the request of Sir Richard Webster, Col. White rose, 
tall and broad chested, a man thirty years of age or more, 
of distinctly military bearing; he was at once identified 
by Bouwer and sat down again. 

"Dr. Jameson spoke to Col. White," Bouwer continued, 
looking steadily at the defendant, then identifying him. 

The Attorney-General next produced a document and 
asked Bouwer if Col. White had given it to him. 

"No sir," he replied without hesitation, "It was given 
me by Sir John Willoughby." 



The Jameson Trial 235 

Col. Willoughby was asked to rise for identification, as 
Col. White had done — a slight, swarthy man, much less 
soldierly, and rather more embarrassed than Col. White 
had been. Captain Grenfell also rose and was identified as 
the man who had been with Col. Willoughby at the time 
Bouwer met him. 

The document proved to be a pass which had been given 
Bouwer and the Africander to enable them to go through 
Dr. Jameson's lines and it had been signed by Sir John 
Willoughby. 

The Attorney-General turned to the Magistrate, after 
Bouwer had identified the pass, and said that he had in his 
hand, also, a letter which Dr. Jameson had commissioned 
Bouwer to carry. 

"I will read it Sir John," he said, and permission being 
given, did so. It had been delivered to Sir Jacobus de 
Wet by Bouwer in Pretoria, and was as follows : 

"Jan. 1, 1896. To Sir Jacobus de Wet, Her Majesty's 
Agent at Pretoria : 

"Dear Sir: I am in receipt of the message you sent from 
His Excellency the High Commissioner, and beg to reply, 
for His Excellency's information that I shall, of course, 
obey his instructions. I have a very large force both of 
men and horses to feed, and as I have finished all my sup- 
plies in the rear I must perforce go either to Johannesburg 
or Krugersdorp this morning for this purpose. At the 
same time, I must acknowledge that I am anxious to ful- 
fill my promise on the petition of the principal inhabitants 
of the Rand to come to the aid of my fellow-men in their 
extremity. I have molested no one, and have explained to 
all Dutchmen and all I have met that the above is my sole 
object, and that I then desire to at once return to the Pro- 
tectorate. I am, Yours faithfully, 

"L. S. Jameson." 



236 A Looker On in London 

After some debate between the counsel for the Crown 
and for the defendants, it was directed to finish that day 
the examination of those witnesses who had arrived, after 
which a lengthy adjournment would be ordered until 
others could be summoned from South Africa. 

With one or two exceptions the story had been related, 
in reality, by the prosecution; the witnesses merely con- 
firming the statements of the counsel and concurring in a 
recital of successive events. There was, however, nothing 
that so much as suggested the bullying of a witness, and 
no display of autocratic authority on the part of the Mag- 
istrate. The eminent men employed on either side were as 
courteous as they were learned, and there was a marked 
disposition to get at the truth and to deal impartially with 
both the defendants and those who had been summoned 
to appear against them. There was no impatience, no 
hurry ; sufficient time was given for the thorough investi- 
gation of any point that appeared confused or doubtful ; 
those who were diffident and embarrassed were treated 
with a consideration that speedily restored their self-con- 
fidence, and there was no great elation over any advantage 
gained by either side. The entire proceedings forced one 
to feel the profoundest respect and admiration for the 
decency and dignity of an English court. 



CHAPTER XXI 

THE JAMESON TRIAL — CONTINUED 

The trial was resumed the following week, the first 
week in April, and the evidence heard at that time simply 
corroborated what had been already stated relative to the 
cutting of telegraph wires, the recruiting, arming and 
mounting of the Chartered Company's forces. 

There was then an interval of one month, pending the 
arrival of other witnesses from Cape Colony. Interest had 
not flagged, and, as before, a fashionable and attentive au- 
dience was present. The personelle of the spectators, 
however, was much changed. The enthusiastic sympa- 
thizer, who had been so outspoken in his championship of 
the reluctant witnesses on the first day, was again present, 
but was much more subdued and far less officious. 
Bouwer, Joubert's clerk, relieved of further responsibility 
was an attentive listener ; but many of the swarthy, sun- 
burned South Africans were missing, having returned to 
the Cape. A tall, muscular young man with waving dark 
hair and with a tinge of African blood in his veins gave a 
certain picturesqueness to a group at one of the doors; 
there were more English officers than before and, these 
were accompanied by their friends. The Hebrew spec- 
tators, ardent and voluble sympathizers with Dr. Jame- 
son, who were supposed to be stock-holders in the Char- 
tered Company, were extremely intrusive. A lady who 
had been conducted to a seat reserved for her happened 
to leave it for a moment, when one of them, a fussy and 
noisy man with a scarlet necktie and a superabundance of 

237 



2 3 8 



A Looker On in London 



diamonds, pounced upon it instantly, while the police were 
occupied elsewhere ; he picked up the chair and brandish- 
ing the legs in dangerous proximity to the eyes of a row 
of people seated in a bench along the wall, squeezed it 
into a corner already crowded and there remained, com- 
placent and well-satisfied. 

Dr. Jameson had been visiting a number of hospitable 
country houses during the intervening Easter holidays, 
and his companions had enjoyed similar relaxation, so 
that they appeared to be much rested and refreshed. Dr. 
Jameson's improvement, apparently, was only physical, 
for he was as depressed and as melancholy as ever, taking 
little interest in the progress of the trial and the incidents 
of the court-room. It was said that he had suffered keenly 
in his detention in England during the uprising of the 
natives in Matabeleland, which had followed, as a direct 
and immediate result of the raid. 

Major General Sir Frederick Carrington had left Lon- 
don early in April, and a number of Dr. Jameson's officers 
were at the station to see him off, envying him the privi- 
lege of going out to the Cape, and expressing a strong de- 
sire to accompany his command. 

The curiosity in regard to Dr. Jameson had increased 
rather than abated, and as he again entered the court- 
room a red- faced matron asked excitedly: 

"Which is he ? Which is he ?" and one of the officials 
obligingly pointed him out. A fashionably dressed woman 
pushed her son forward, a lad in an Eton jacket and col- 
lar, and approached so near his chair that her frank com- 
ments must have been plainly audible. The proceedings 
were opened by the Attorney-General who stated that but 
little new evidence had been secured, and after hearing 
the testimony of the witnesses that had recently arrived 
he asked another adjournment until June nth — the earliest 



The Jameson Trial 239 

date that could be arranged, since the men subpoenaed 
could not leave Cape Town until May 20th. 

Sir Edward Clarke objected very strongly to this delay, 
expressing a hope that the trial might be concluded before 
the long vacation. Moreover, he thought it time that 
the prosecution should give the defense some idea of the 
nature of the evidence which they had obtained. In addi- 
tion to this, there was a number of the defendants against 
whom no charges could be sustained and these, he thought, 
should be discharged. This opinion was delivered with 
considerable emphasis and was heard by the Attorney- 
General with unruffled composure. He replied courteously 
that the prosecution had required but little time to sub- 
poena witnesses, but time must be given after leaving the 
Cape for their arrival in England. If it was thought 
proper to discharge certain of the defendants, special ap- 
plication should be made in each case. He had heard 
nothing in the evidence that would justify him in dif- 
ferentiating the responsibility of the various defendants. 
Further development might justify such a course, but it 
could not be urged at that time. He said that he would 
consider carefully whether he could let the defense know 
what he would next attempt to prove, as he did not wish 
to take them by surprise. The Magistrate thereupon 
agreed to arrange his engagements in the court, so that he 
might resume hearing the case, when it was most con- 
venient for the counsel. 

The most interesting witness that day was Arthur May- 
nard Rowland, whose adventure surpassed in boldness, 
even the daring of Dr. Jameson himself, and whose cour- 
age and steadiness of nerve had made him something of a 
hero upon his return to London. His father was a Con- 
gregational clergyman living near London. Rowland was 
a stalwart, handsome young man, with very little in his 
manner or appearance to indicate the fearless adventurer 



240 A Looker On in London 

that he was. He kissed the Bible with a sort of airy non- 
chalance, and once or twice laughed heartily at some 
episode which his testimony recalled; he seemed rather 
proud of the part he had taken in the raid, and was not 
in the least reluctant to give an account of it. Like 
Sergeant White his behavior upon the witness stand was, 
to say the least, unconventional. At first he stood erect, and 
then, as the hours wore away, he became more careless and 
leaned forward, resting his elbows upon the ledge in front 
of him and supporting his chin with his hands. His 
escapade was one of the most fool-hardy episodes of the 
entire Transvaal campaign, undertaken almost single- 
handed and with the knowledge that failure meant death. 
Rowland testified that he was a mechanical engineer in 
Johannesburg, and was a member of a cycling club. He 
carried out the last dispatch sent to Dr. Jameson by the 
reform committee, hiding it in the saddle-pin of his 
machine. He was accompanied by a Boer named Cellier. 
They were overhauled by the Boers, after they had gone 
some distance, who, supposing them to be two cyclists 
out for a harmless run, not only let them pass through 
their lines but commissioned them to carry dispatches to 
their commandant at the front, which they readily con- 
sented to do. They obtained permits to continue on their 
journey after proceeding to the front, reaching Dr. Jame- 
son in safety, delivered the Johannesburg message, and 
also informed him as to the purport of the message which 
they had left with the Boer commandant, and which they 
had not hesitated to read. In the course of the question- 
ing, Mr. Rowland explained that he had helped to organize 
the bicycle corps of which he was a member, and had been 
commissioned to proceed to the Black Reef series of mines 
and ascertain if there were any armed Boers in that region. 
When they reached Krugersdorp they came across a num- 
ber of well-armed Boers, the commandant retreating on 



The Jameson Trial 241 

the road before Dr. Jameson's troops. He was given a 
pass to deliver to Potgieter, the Boer commandant at the 
front and furnished a pass. At one of the mines they 
found a number of natives removing the timbers where 
an ambuscade was suspected. Near at hand was a com- 
pany of Boers who had a party of prisoners. Their pass, 3 
were produced and they were allowed to continue their 
journey without hindrance. Seven miles from Krugers- 
dorp they came up with Commandant Potgieter and de- 
livered the despatches which they had brought him and 
then, under the pretext of having had no breakfast, asked 
permission to go on in search of a hotel. 

"You did not tell them you were carrying dispatches 
for Dr. Jameson, did you?" asked Mr. Horace Avory, 
who was conducting the examination. 

Rowland smiled suggestively but did not reply to this 
query. There was a burst of laughter, several of the de- 
fendants being highly amused; even Sir John Bridge 
seemed to appreciate the ingenuousness of the question. 

Rowland stated that the Boers warned them to look out 
for the British column which was advancing, and he 
laughed heartily at the recollection of the incident and 
the court and the spectators again laughed with him. He 
and his companion reached a hotel fifteen miles from 
Krugersdorp, rode on from there, telling the Boers whom 
they met from time to time that they were Potgieter's 
scouts, a ruse they were able to carry out successfully by 
means of the passes which had been furnished them. 
Shortly afterwards they saw Jameson's forces coming 
over a hill and when they reached the column they asked 
to be taken to the leader. The dispatches were delivered 
and read immediately. 

"Who read them?" Rowland was asked. 
"I think that they were read by an officer who was 
standing beside Dr. Jameson," was the reply. 



242 A Looker On in London 

"Do you think you could recognize him among the de- 
fendants?" was the next question. 

Rowland who, at this juncture was bending forward in 
his favorite attitude, with his chin upon his hands, 
straightened himself, smiled, then replied very guardedly, 
still smiling: 

"They were very differently dressed when I saw them, 
which would change their appearance." 

The question of identification was not pressed. 

Rowland said that he was forced to read the dispatches 
committed to him in Johannesburg as a matter of self-pro- 
tection, and was asked to give their substance, but his 
memory which, up to this point had been remarkable, 
suddenly failed him. At length, after much assistance 
from the prosecution, he recalled that one had been writ- 
ten by Col. Rhodes and another by George Farrar, two of 
the men whom the Kruger government subsequently sen- 
tenced to death and then pardoned. The dispatches des- 
cribed the situation in Johannesburg and the witness was 
also able to remember that Dr. Jameson was warned of 
the ambuscade at the mine, informed that no fight had 
occurred and that he was told that "they hoped to see him 
in the evening." In a conversation Dr. Jameson told Row- 
land that he "intended to go through the Boers." 

He was asked to explain this statement. 

"Well," replied the witness with some hesitation, "he 
said that he would not fire unless he was fired upon first." 

On their return Rowland and Cellier were again stopped 
by the Boers who charged them with having communi- 
cated with Dr. Jameson and which Rowland said he at 
once denied. 

When asked to describe the manner in which they were 
stopped he explained artlessly that the Boers had made 
them halt "by putting cartridges in their rifles and getting 
in the way generally." 



The Jameson Trial 243 

This description again appealed to the humor of the 
court and the spectators and there was another laugh, 
Major Coventry, especially, enjoying it keenly. 

Rowland and Cellier were arrested in spite of their 
denial that they had not seen Jameson who had given 
Rowland a dispatch to carry back, and which he had con- 
cealed as before, in the saddle-pin of his bicycle. At the 
hotel where they were taken, the Boers, as he put it "had 
a long palaver," as to what should be done with them. 
They were finally turned over to the men at the mine 
where they were told that they would be placed under 
Boer protection against the English. He and Cellier sat 
out upon the kopje all the afternoon and at half past 
six in the evening an armed escort started with them back 
to Krugersdorp. In an attempt to get rid of Dr. Jame- 
son's dispatches he pretended to let his machine run away 
with him down hill. He had already walked up one hill 
pushing the machine before him, on the pretext that he 
was tired of riding, when the Boers rode back to him, or- 
dering him to remount and threatening to shoot him if he 
disobeyed. When the machine ran away he guided it close 
under the kopje, dismounted and let the air out of the 
tire ; Cellier did the same, and the Boers again discussed 
the feasibility of shooting them, but at length decided to 
keep them under guard. Rowland and his companion 
then volunteered to do ambulance work should their serv- 
ices be required. 

Jameson's column appeared in a little while after this, 
and the Boers immediately opened fire, which was 
promptly returned, and it was kept up on both sides all the 
afternoon. Rowland and Cellier, both being unarmed, took 
refuge from the bullets in the shaft of the mine and in the 
evening, while the fight was still going on, the march 
was continued. When they reached the town they were 
released on patrol. Cellier went over to Johannesburg 



244 A Looker On in London 

on Jan. 3rd and Rowland followed on the 7th and finally 
escaped, making his way to Pretoria. He was never 
formally released by the Boers and never learned what 
became of the bicycle. He made his escape upon a wheel 
which he managed in some way to secure. 

"Were you paid for your services?" Mr. Avory asked. 

"I was paid — that is, the man who holds my power of 
attorney was paid," Rowland replied. 

Sir Edward Clarke who endeavored to show that a 
predatory raid had not been planned, the National Union 
hoping to establish justice by peaceable methods, asked if 
it was not generally believed that the Boers would attack 
Johannesburg. 

"It was not shown certainly," was the reply, "but there 
were a great many rumors." 

"Was there great alarm for the safety of the women and 
children?" Sir Edward then asked. 

"Yes, great alarm." 

The witness stated, further, that he read the messages 
so that in case it became necessary to destroy them he 
could deliver them verbally. The Boer message was in 
Dutch and informed Potgieter that the Dutch column 
would reach the hill in the afternoon. This Rowland com- 
municated to Dr. Jameson. In the re-examination by the 
Attorney-General, Rowland said that he received his in- 
struction from the committee in Johannesburg December 
31st. He also recalled the fact that one of the dispatches 
to Dr. Jameson "expressed the surprise of the reform com- 
mittee that Dr. Jameson was coming through." 

Rowland had been upon the stand for more than two 
hours, replying to the questions which were put to him, 
with scarcely a pause, and he seemed neither fatigued nor 
abashed when he was at last excused, and the usual recess 
was given for luncheon. Tea was served those who de- 
sired it in adjacent restaurants, and several ladies who had 



The Jameson Trial 245 

brought their lunch baskets with them remained seated, 
eating sandwiches and sipping their claret with a relish. 
The evidence of the afternoon related to the cutting of 
the telegraph wire, and contracts for horses made with 
Col. White and Alfred Henry Harbor, a livery stable 
keeper in Mafeking. 

The first witness was Inspector Fuller of the Cape 
Mounted Police, who had notified the authorities that Dr. 
Jameson's forces had started. He was a tall, swarthy man 
with a heavy black mustache, rather irascible, and his ir- 
ritability made a fine foil for the unruffled calmness of 
the Attorney-General. He testified that he had arrived at 
Mafeking from Vryberg, Sunday, December 29th, and 
found the column preparing to leave. He had a conver- 
sation with Major Coventry and Col. Grey and thereupon 
ordered Inspector Brown to watch the column. In the 
evening, learning that the column was falling in, he asked 
Major White where they were going, but got no satis- 
factory answer. 

"What did he say ?" asked the Attorney-General. 

"I cannot recall it," replied the witness very testily. 

"Can you give the substance of it?" 

"It is impossible for me to remember, after so long a 
time," was the reply. 

"But cannot you give some idea — not the exact words," 
persisted the Attorney-General. 

"I cannot remember it; I do not wish to attempt it," 
the Inspector said again, adding something under his 
breath about "such a place as this." 

He admitted one fact, however, that produced a some- 
what startling effect. It had been ascertained before this 
that the telegraph wires had been cut, shutting off com- 
munication with Dr. Jameson and the authorities em- 
powered to order his immediate return. An effort had 
been made to place the blame upon the Boers. Inspector 



246 A Looker On in London 

Fuller's evidence, reluctantly and haltingly given, con- 
clusively disposed of this theory and showed that, if Dr. 
Jameson's officers had not been directly responsible, they 
were at least aware that the wires had been tampered 
with. 

On Sunday evening prior to the departure of the column 
the witness had seen Major, the Hon. Robert White, who 
told him that some of the junior officers did not care to 
go with the troop, and the Inspector was asked to urge 
them to consent. Fuller said that he was unwilling be- 
cause he was still wearing the uniform of the government 
service. When the column marched away Col. White 
bade him good-bye and, returning his salute, the Inspector 
remarked that he would be obliged to report the departure 
of the column. Col. White replied : 

"You can do as you like ; the wires are cut." 

This speech created something of a sensation in the 
court-room and Col. White, a fine type of the British of- 
ficer, towering head and shoulders above Dr. Jameson, 
was nonplussed for an instant and brushed his hand nerv- 
ously across his face ; there was also a little embarrassment 
in Major Coventry's ever-ready smile. Dr. Jameson 
alone appeared not to have heard the astonishing state- 
ment; he retained his phlegmatic composure and did not 
raise his down-cast eyes, although some of the officials of 
the court bent a look of dignified and polite disapproval 
upon the stalwart Inspector. Fuller's testimony concluded 
with an account of dispatching a message to Mafeking to 
send a telegram to Kimberly, which, as had been already 
stated, involved a roundabout journey of fifty miles upon 
horseback, and hours of delay. 

When the court adjourned and the people poured out 
into Wellington street they were horrified by dispatches 
which had just been received from the Cape; newsboys 
were calling special editions of the evening papers with 



The Jameson Trial 247 

the latest telegrams announcing that four leaders of the 
reform committee, Mr. Lionel Phillips, Mr. John Hays 
Hammond, Mr. Percy Farrar and Col. Rhodes had been 
condemned to death by the Boers. It caused the utmost 
consternation; the papers were rapidly bought up and 
there were shocked and excited comments on the news. 
The day had been a very exciting one, of itself, within 
the court; and this last stroke seemed to complete the 
chapter of sensations that had followed, one upon another, 
through Rowland's long narrative and the briefer, but not 
less stirring admissions made by Inspector Fuller. The 
news undoubtedly fell upon Dr. Jameson, sad and troubled 
as he was, with crushing effect. 



CHAPTER XXII 

CIPHER MESSAGES 

As had been agreed upon, an interval of seven weeks 
elapsed before the hearing of the case was resumed. If, 
as had been charged, there was a purpose in the repeated 
remanding of the defendants, the long delay between the 
arrival of successive detachments of witnesses, it had 
failed ; public interest, although notoriously fickle in Lon- 
don, had not abated in the least; the demand for tickets 
of admission to the court-room was as great as ever, and 
Dr. Jameson was still the center of not always polite ob- 
servation. The number of Boers present was considerably 
augmented by new arrivals, all of whom had been smartly 
turned out by London tailors, and with their carnation 
boutonnieres, might have walked Piccadilly like men to 
the manner born. 

The main work of the day was the identification of dis- 
patches which had already been given the public during 
the judical proceedings in Pretoria, immediately follow- 
ing the raid. The letters, which were of the most com- 
promising character, had been preserved where any man 
of ordinary prudence would have at once destroyed them. 
The cipher had been devised from the ordinary telegraphic 
and commercial code book, which was as familiar to the 
Boer authorities as to the English, and it required very 
little ingenuity to transcribe the messages. The first wit- 
ness called was Lieut. ElofT, a grandson of President 
Kriiger. As the young man took his place upon the stand, 
modest, reserved, yet perfectly sure of himself, he made a 

248 



Cipher Messages 249 

very favorable impression. He did not fidget or toss him- 
self about, but stood quiet and attentive and replied in soft, 
well modulated tones; his English was excellent, almost 
without accent, and an interpreter was not required. 

Lieut. Eloff's testimony related to his encounter with 
the English forces under Jameson's command. He had 
received important information and had started, in conse- 
quence, for Mafeking; he was mounted and had with 
him nine men whom he left behind when he went, alone, 
to meet Jameson's column, which he came up with at 
Swaraatlaagete. He paused a moment at this point to 
spell the long word for the clerk who was rapidly record- 
ing the testimony, and then continued, stating that he was 
stopped by scouts and taken to one of Dr. Jameson's of- 
ficers, who, he was told, was Col. Grey. When questioned 
a little more minutely Lieut. Eloff admitted to Col. Grey 
that he had been paroled, but refused to tell how many 
men he had with him, whereupon Col. Grey said that he 
would "find out for himself." Dr. Jameson's column had 
halted and the men dismounted. Eloff's horse was taken 
from him for a time, a receipt being given him for the 
animal, and an armed guard was placed over him with the 
promise that both his arms and his horse should be re- 
stored, either in Johannesburg or Pretoria. 

Eloff said that when he asked to see Dr. Jameson the 
request was at first refused and then reconsidered and 
granted. 

"What did you say to Dr. Jameson?" the examiner 
asked, to which the young Boer replied with dignity and 
certainly with very convincing logic : 

"I asked him if he had any right to arrest me, a Trans- 
vaal officer, when no war had been declared." 

Dr. Jameson, he said, did not reply to this question di- 
rectly, but replied after a pause : 



250 A Looker On in London 

"You shall have your horse back again, but we will 
keep your arms." 

No conditions of any sort were made by Dr. Jameson, 
but the man who returned the horse informed Lieut. 
Eloff that he was to remain where he was for two 
hours after Dr. Jameson's column had resumed the march, 
and it was about nine o'clock when the last of Jameson's 
wagons left. At the expiration of the stipulated time, 
Eloff rode in the direction of Rustenberg, coming up 
with Commandant Malen at two or three o'clock in the 
morning. Malen had 300 men with him and went on to 
Queen's Battery, the mine, a quarter of an hour from 
Krugersdorp, which he reached about noon on January 
1st. Jameson's column arrived between three and four 
o'clock in the afternoon, and a note was brought the Boer 
commandant, saying that if any resistance was offered 
the town would be shelled, and it was asked that the 
women and children be removed to a place of safety. The 
message was brought by a man who represented himself 
to be one of Jameson's prisoners. 

"But," added Eloff naively, "he disappeared after that 
and we did not see him again." 

This speech, delivered in a very mild voice, was greeted 
with laughter which seemed rather surprising to the wit- 
ness. 

In half an hour the first shell was fired; there were 
then about 500 Boers upon the ground. The firing con- 
tinued an hour and a half until it grew dark, Jameson 
charging the Boer outposts, a few of his men being killed 
and wounded in the manoeuvre. The Boers then began 
to fire both from their battery and outposts and drove 
Jameson back; part of the column they moved toward 
Randfontheim, and ultimately to Dornkoop where the bat- 
tle took place. Eloff said that he was not present at the 
time of the surrender. 



Cipher Messages 251 

"Of course you knew they surrendered?" asked the 
Magistrate. 

"Yes," was the brief reply. 

Sir Edward Clarke gave notice that he would not cross- 
examine the witness but would claim the privilege of re- 
calling him in the future, with others, if it seemed neces- 
sary. 

After Lieut. Eloff had been excused a small tin box 
painted yellow and grained in imitation of oak, was pro- 
duced, with a black box and a large portfolio ; the lid of 
the yellow box was crushed and dinted. Both boxes were 
identified by Paul Constant Paff, a sallow, fair-haired 
young man, with a mildness and composure of manner 
quite equal to that of his compatriot, Lieut. ElofT. The 
black box was marked with the name of Captain White. 
Both boxes had been brought in, with various other 
articles from Jameson's column after the surrender. They 
had been opened by order of Mr. Woolmaarens, a mem- 
ber of the Transvaal executive council, in the presence of 
Captain Erasmus and others. The boxes contained books, 
bank notes and writing material. The statement was cor- 
roborated by Albert Reinold Fleischack, of the civil divi- 
sion of the State's Attorney department in Pretoria. His 
English was not so distinct as that of Lieut. Eloff, but 
the slender, well-dressed gentleman, dark-haired, dark- 
eyed and with his straight, symmetrical features, London 
clothes and gold rimmed eyeglasses, was about as far re- 
moved from the Boer of popular fiction as could well be 
imagined. Walking along Regent street he would not 
have been in any way conspicuous or remarkable. He 
promptly identified the boxes with the leather portfolio 
marked L. S. J., and said that, after the boxes had been 
examined, their contents had been replaced and they had 
been closed again ; they were then sealed, the portfolio be- 
ing delivered unsealed by the Inspector-General of Cus- 



252 A Looker On in London 

toms in whose keeping it had been placed; the seals on 
the boxes were broken by the Attorney-General. 

Fleischack, had been commissioned to secure the sig- 
natures of the men who were then prisoners. This he 
evidently had no difficulty in doing; Dr. Jameson, Sir 
John Willoughby, the Hon. H. F. White and the Hon. 
Robert White obligingly writing their full names on a 
sheet of paper which was produced. 

Fleischack also testified to having had an interview with 
the Hon. R. White concerning a letter from four inhabi- 
tants of Johannesburg. This was produced, with various 
maps and documents, which were also identified. The 
Hon. Robert White had asked to have his diary and the 
pay sheets of Dr. Jameson's forces returned to him, de- 
siring the latter, especially, that he might pay the men. 
The list was accordingly given him, but the diary was re- 
tained for official use. And now came that which, for Dr. 
Jameson, must have been a very trying ordeal — the read- 
ing aloud of his letters in the court-room, in the hearing 
of the judges, counsel and spectators. There are very 
few private letters that do not suffer under such treat- 
ment ; statements meant only for the eye of a friend seem 
to acquire another meaning when they are repeated casu- 
ally, in the public ear. These letters were read in a dis- 
tinct voice and in somewhat monotonous tones by the At- 
torney-General, from large type-written sheets of foolscap, 
which he held in his hand, the witness listening carefully, 
following the original text which had been given him. 
The first letter was not especially important but the in- 
terest increased as the reading progressed. Dr. Jameson 
could not conceal his distress and mortification; at the 
first word he flushed deeply, even his ears turning a 
blazing scarlet. But the Attorney-General went on re- 
morselessly, as he was forced by the exigencies of the case 
to do. 



Cipher Messages 253 

"Blokfontein, Jan. 1. 
"Dear Wolff : I am taking all necessary store here for 

both men and horses. Yours, 

"L. vS. Jameson." 

The next, the witness said had been given him by the 

Transvaal State's Attorney ; he believed that it was also 

in Dr. Jameson's hand writing. The Attorney-General 

was of the opinion that it ought to be read, and it was 

handed to the Magistrate who adjusted his eyeglasses 

and scanned the bit of paper very carefully, after which 

it was returned and, with his approval, read in the court. 

It was as follows : 

"Dec. 30, 1895. 

"I am in receipt of your protest of above date and 
have to inform you that I intend to proceed with 
my original plans, in which I have no hostile intentions 
against the people of the Transvaal. We are here in reply 
to an invitation from the principal residents of the Rand 
to assist them in their demand for justice and the ordinary 
rights of every citizen of a civilized state. 

"L. S. Jameson/' 

'To whom was this letter addressed ?" Fleischack was 
asked. 

"To the Commandant of the Marico district," was the 

reply. 

The Attorney- General then turned his attention to the 
rest of the correspondence, a thick packet, also type-writ- 
ten on sheets of foolscap, which were passed about 
amongst the counsel for inspection. 

"Dear Bobby" — the Attorney-General began, then he 
hesitated and asked : 

"Is it Bobby or Robby?" emphasizing the first syllable 
of the diminutive. There was an unconscious and wholly 



254 A Looker On in London 

unintentional irony in the question that sent the blood to 
Dr. Jameson's forehead again and caused him to shift un- 
easily in his chair. Fleischack said "Bobby," whereupon 
the Attorney-General repeated it — "Dear Bobby" and read 
the letter through. 

"Kimberly Club, Kimberly, Nov. 5, 1895. 
"Dear Bobby — I am writing you that Foley leaves to- 
morrow to join you in camp. Use him and keep him 
there. Not intentionally, but idiotically, he has been talk- 
ing too much, Frank writes me, and that is the reason they 
have sent him on to me. Holden is here and is doing very 
good work. He is a capital chap. I have told Foley that, 
as you must have a man, and as Holden cannot go, he is 
to take his place. If you cannot do with him send him up 
with a message to Johnnie. Everything here seems to be 
going right, especially Gardner Williams' part of it. I 
go in again to-night and will let you know later. 

"L. S. Jameson/' 

"Do you know who Gardner Williams was?" asked the 
Attorney-General pausing and looking toward the wit- 
ness. 

Fleischack replied that he knew him by reputation, and 
that he was the manager of the De Beers company at 
Kimberly. _ 

The next two letters were from Major Willoughby who 
complained, in this strain, of the vagueness of Dr. Jame- 
son's instructions : 

Buluwayo, Nov. 8, 1895. 

"Dear Bobby: Kennedy and Dr. Jameson go by this 
coach to you. The former will look after all the stores, 
supplies and equipments as they arrive, and I think he 
may also take up the duties of camp quarter-master. Em- 
ploy him in any way you think. I cannot get anything 
out of the doctor as yet except vague and disappointing 



Cipher Messages 255 

telegrams. In the meantime, the days are slipping by. If 
you have not got mules or pack saddles don't do so, but 
get the refusal of them for a week or so, and go easy with 
the expenditure until you hear from me, or have instruc- 
tions from the doctor. Your wire of mules, etc., was 
rather an open one. Yours ever, 

"John Willoughby." 

"Buluwayo, Nov. 18, 1895. 
"My dear Bobby: Why do you not write and tell me all 
you are doing? The doctor wires that everything is all 
right and that he is arranging for an equipment and 
horses and that we should have 600 men including the 
Bechuanaland Border Police. It is important not to send 
any men, horses or equipments now. I wish that I could 
come down, but he will not let me just yet. Mind you 
drill the men inside out at outpost, advance guard work, 
skirmishing, etc. I hope that you are getting on well. 
"Yours ever, 

"John Willoughby." 

The climax of this interesting correspondence which, 
taken as a whole, seemed certainly to convey the idea of 
a premeditated foray, rather than an impulse of patriotic 
fervor, was from Dr. Jameson. It was greeted with a 
burst of laughter in which most of the officers joined. To 
the luckless writer the unavoidable reading must have 
been a species of torture, and his mortification was again 
very marked. His face burned painfully and he moved 
nervously in his chair, once raising his eyes with an ex- 
pression that was almost appealing. The Attorney-Gen- 
eral read the letter slowly and with the utmost distinct- 
ness. 

"Johannesburg, Nov. 9, 1895. 

"Dear Bobby: Hope by the time you get this you 
will have our men in camp; also about 100 from 



256 A Looker On in London 

Stevens. I shall arrive in about a fortnight or a lit- 
tle longer. The almost certain date will be Decem- 
ber 26. From Willoughby's wire there ought to be 
150 complete equipments on the way down, and now you 
had better find out from him when they are likely to ar- 
rive. I have wired to Willoughby that he is not to send 
down any men or anything further, as those people up 
there have been blabbing, and here, they are still getting 
letters on the subject; therefore I wired to Willoughby 
to stop all drilling but to give out all the horses, etc. Will- 
oughby himself must not come down until much later, 
though I know he does not like it. Now you see the 
force ought to be about 600. If there are not enough sad- 
dles find out if Grey has any reserve ; if not, tell Stevens 
he must get them below. I do not see that you want any 
more equipment or any horses, but if you require them 
they would also have to come from Stevens. Of course 
efficiency and proper equipment are important, but what 
is much more important, in fact vital, is that suspicion 
should not be raised in any way. Everything is in per- 
fect order. I am going to the Cape on Friday, and shall 
be a week before coming to Mafeking, unless some un- 
pleasant blabbing occurs, when we might have to hurry 
things. Wolff will tell you the rest. L. S. J." 

In response to an inquiry Fleischack explained that 
Wolff was "a Dr. Wolff of Johannesburg in charge of 
the stores." He also testified that a telegram dated No- 
vember 25th had been found in the black box ; it was in 
cipher from Dr. Jameson, Cape Town, to Major White, 
Mafeking. The cipher had been found — a sheet of paper 
with cipher words written on it — in a volume of MacNeil's 
general telegraphic and mining code. The Attorney-.Gen- 
eral explained that the telegram had been translated thus : 

"There are at the British Bechuanaland police stores 



Cipher Messages 257 

equipments for a number of men, as we have already writ- 
ten you by Dr. Wolff. Remember B. S. A. Company's 
police, and the B. B. P. we took over are already fully 
equipped. Send the equipment out quietly to Pitsani. I 
see there are 147 military saddles. Send them all out with 
their fittings." 

From Robert White to Col. Rhodes, Johannesburg, 
Dec. 8th, 1895 : "Your cable, dated yesterday, received. 
Hope no delay. Don't alter unless obliged. According 
to original understanding, all right, therefore any delay 
would be most injurious." 

This concluded the work of the morning, the considera- 
tion of other messages relating to horses and ammunition 
being resumed after luncheon. One from Dr. Jameson 
to Major White was as follows: 

"All men after to-day must be able absolutely to ride. 
Send no more after Dec. 12th. How many do you ex- 
pect by then? Date fixed is December 28th." 

There was also an order by wire for "salted horses;" 
these, it was explained, were the only ones that were equal 
to a 300-mile march. There was in addition to this an 
order for 200, instead of 100 Lee-Metford rifles at first 
ordered. A telegram from Dr. Jameson to Robert White 
to be transmitted to Mr. Stevens, Cape Town, ended the 
reading for that time. 

"Send following message," it ran, "to Frank. Begin, 
Grave suspicion has been aroused. Surely in your esti- 
mation, do you consider that races (sic) is the utmost im- 
portance. Prepare. Immense risk of discovery. Under 
circumstances it will be necessary to act prematurely. 
Let J. H. Hammond inform weak partners more delay 
more danger. Dr. Wolff inclined to precipitate rather 
than delay action." 

Tracings were then produced of Troye's map of the 
Transvaal indicating the roads and streams— another evi- 



258 A Looker On in London 

dence of systematic and careful preparation, which still 
further discredited the pretense of a spontaneous upris- 
ing in defense of the imperiled lives of women and chil- 
dren. There were five of these maps, all of which had 
been prepared with the utmost accuracy, and they were 
compared to the original and then passed to the Judge 
and the counsel as the letters and telegrams had been. 

The last testimony of any special consequence was that 
of Frederick Tossel, which was heard the day after the 
telegrams and letters had been submitted. Tossel was 
chief of police for the district of Klerksdorp and Potch- 
esfstroom in the Transvaal Republic. The narrative be- 
gan in the most interesting and promising manner, but 
was cut short by Sir Edward Clarke who objected to the 
witness dilating upon matters which he desired should be 
stated concisely, and in direct response only to such ques- 
tions as were asked, and to no others. When Tossel went 
upon the witness-stand to be sworn he held up the index 
and middle fingers of his right hand while the oath was 
administered, as all the Boers witnesses had done. And 
like them, he, too, was extremely composed and spoke dis- 
tinctly and with quiet emphasis. He stated that he had 
been the chief detective of the South African Republic 
and was stationed at Johannesburg. On Monday, De- 
cember 30th, he saw unmistakable signs of disturbance. 
The Solicitor-General, Sir R. Finlay, who was conducting 
the examination asked : 

"Before that day had life and property been in dan- 
ger?" 

Sir Edward Clarke interrupted this query with some 
curtness, remarking: 

"It is always in danger. That is the reason for the ex- 
istence of a police force." 

This provoked a good deal of laughter but it did not 
embarrass the witness who maintained his self-possession. 



Cipher Messages 259 

"Had there been any reason to apprehend disturbances 
in Johannesburg before that day ?" was the next question, 
put by the Solicitor-General. 

"Not the slightest/' was the reply and Tossel's eye was 
turned upon the double row of defendants, finally fixing 
itself upon Dr. Jameson who, for once, appeared to be 
listening with some interest. 

'There was ordinary crime in Johannesburg," the wit- 
ness added, after a moment's pause. "But with that," he 
continued, "the police force was able to cope. At that 
time they succeeded in making several important arrests, 
and crimes were unusually few." 

Here Sir Edward Clarke again interposed pointing out 
that "none of the defendants had been in Johannesburg on 
that day." 

The defendants, with the exception of Dr. Jameson, 
smiled broadly at this assertion, and the witness was re- 
quested to confine his replies to the questions asked by 
the Solicitor-General. He had evidently come into the 
court brimming with information and prepared to tell a 
very edifying story; but, thus cautioned, he condensed his 
statement to the mere fact that armed men had been seen 
going about the streets of Johannesburg, December 30th. 
There was other evidence which showed that stores had 
been erected at various points in the Transvaal and were 
well stocked with provisions and spirits. Five additional 
telegrams, three addressed to Dr. Jameson's brother, S. 
W. Jameson, were read after Tossel's testimony was con- 
cluded, which related to men and ammunition. 

"Dr. Wolff, Johannesburg, Dec. 18, to Bobby White, 
Pitsani : — Would suggest that you at once instruct Major 
Raleigh Grey forward as soon as possible 200,000 surplus 
ammunition to Gardner F. Williams. There is not likely 
to be postponement." 

"S. W. Jameson, Johannesburg, Dec. 26, to Jameson, 



260 A Looker On in London 

Pitsani: — It is absolutely necessary to postpone flotation 
through unforeseen circumstances altogether unexpected, 
and until we have C. J. Rhodes' absolute pledge that au- 
thority of Imperial government will not be insisted on. 
Charles Leonard left last night to interview C. J. Rhodes. 
We will endeavor to meet your wishes as regards Decem- 
ber, but you must not move until you have received in- 
structions so please confirm." 

"Jameson, Pitsani, Dec. 27, to S. W. Jameson, Johannes- 
burg: — Dr. Wolff will understand the distant cutting. 
British Bechuanaland police have already gone forward; 
guarantee already given ; therefore let W. H. Hammond 
telegraph instantly all right." 

"Hays, Johannesburg, Dec. 2J, to Jameson, Pitsani : — 
Wire just received. Experts report decidedly adverse. I 
absolutely condemn further developments at present." 

"Starr (%. e. Jameson) Pitsani, Dec. 28, to W r olff: — 
Meet me as arranged before you leave, nine Tuesday night 
which will enable us to decide which is best destination. 
Make Advocate W. A. Leonard speak. Make cutting to- 
night without fail. Have great faith in J. H. Hammond, 
A. L. Lawley and miners with Lee-Metford rifle." 

This concluded the hearing of the documents submitted 
in evidence. 

The proclamation of the Foreign Enlistments Act in 
force at the Cape was submitted by the Solicitor-Gen- 
eral, with a copy of the Order in Council assenting 
to the act, given by the Queen. The Solicitor-Gen- 
eral stated that there were many other official docu- 
ments relating to the territory, a list of which with 
copies of those of which he might not have dupli- 
cates, would be furnished the counsel for the defense. 
Sir Edward Clarke expressed a wish to see them as 
soon as possible that he might satisfy himself par- 
ticularly as to whether the requirement in the Foreign En- 



Cipher Messages 261 

listments Act, under which the proceedings had been in- 
stituted, had been fulfilled, and he gave notice that he 
would deal with this question when the court convened 
again on Monday. The Attorney-General announced 
that all the evidence which the Crown would submit had 
now been offered and when Sir Edward Clarke had cross- 
examined some of the witnesses whom he desired to ques- 
tion further, he would indicate the course he intended to 
pursue. Sir Edward replied that he would designate the 
witnesses required and called attention to the third clause 
of the Enlistments Act which it was shown came into op- 
eration in British possessions only upon the day of the 
proclamation of the act by the Governor thereof; this 
point, he gave notice, he would especially consider. The 
Attorney-General replied to the effect that "it would as- 
sist his learned friend to find in the bundle that had been 
given him a copy of the proclamation act dated Nov. 11, 
1895. It had also been published in the Cape of Good 
Hope Gazette, Nov. 12, the following day. Sir Edward 
Clarke replied that he was under the impression that this 
was not the question, which related instead, to the exis- 
tence of a proclamation legalizing the Foreign Enlistments 
Act in the territory. Thereupon he was once more in- 
formed by the Attorney-General that a document had 
been furnished him which fully covered this point. 

"There is also," he added, "the annexation of British 
Bechuanaland to Cape Colony with the provision that the 
laws of Cape Colony should apply to British Bechuana- 
land." 

To this statement Sir Edward replied warningly : 
"Then I may say at once, that if the documents stop 
there I shall submit that there is no jurisdiction and that 
the statute has not been complied with." The court then 
adjourned until Monday, June 16th, when the hearing for 
committal terminated. 



262 A Looker On in London 

The trial had ceased to attract spectators in the street 
and the men arrived in cabs, driving up to the door of the 
police court comparatively unobserved. The day was ex- 
cessively hot, for London, and the Magistrate, barristers, 
defendants and onlookers appeared to be rather languid 
and oppressed by the temperature. The doors into the 
corridor were left ajar and, but for a stray breeze that 
stole through now and then, it must have been extremely 
uncomfortable, the swarthy Africanders being the only 
persons who appeared not to notice the heat. The ladies on 
the bench and in the body of the court room were arrayed 
in summer muslins and lace-trimmed hats and bonnets ; 
they fanned themselves energetically, chatting and divid- 
ing their attention between the defendants and a surrep- 
titious study of the fashions in the conspicuous examples 
about them. 

As the Attorney-General had given notice, the evidence 
for the Crown had all been submitted and no other wit- 
nesses were to be examined by the prosecution. Sir Ed- 
ward Clarke also deferred the cross-examination which 
he had said he would conduct, so that the business for that 
day lay between the Attorney-General and himself. In a 
concise manner Sir Richard Webster stated that the point 
of objection which would be raised by the counsel for the 
defense was the validity of the jurisdiction of the court in 
connection with proclamation of the Foreign Enlistments 
Act in British Bechuanaland. He was led to believe that 
this point would not be argued by Sir Edward Clarke but 
that he would present it in the form of opinions deduced 
from official documents in his possession, to which he 
would call attention. The proclamation of the Foreign En- 
listment Act in Cape Colony, which was dated Sept. 28, 
1870, was already in evidence. The point to be argued' 
rested upon the annexation of British Bechuanaland to 
Cape Colony, which, according to an act of the Cape Par- 



Cipher Messages 263 

liament occurred Oct. 3, 1895, and from which date all 
laws and enactments were in force throughout the an- 
nexed territory. By the proclamation of the act, the laws 
of Cape Colony became the laws of Bechuanaland. After 
making this explanation the attorney said that he would 
hand into the court copies of the proclamation relating to 
all territories mentioned thus far in the investigation and 
these were accordingly turned over to Sir John Bridge, the 
Magistrate. Sir Edward Clarke replied to the effect that 
the Attorney-General, as he had promised, had supplied 
him with a full list of the documents upon which the 
Crown would base its argument ; he said further, that he 
would not at that moment argue the point which he pro- 
posed to raise which was of serious importance and must 
be considered in the higher tribunal which would deal 
with the case. Mafeking and Pitsani-Potlugo, had been 
mentioned as starting points of the expedition, and the 
question concerning them was very different. He admit- 
ted that Mafeking was a part of British Bechuanaland and 
proclamations issued in September, 1885, might have 
made it a legal part of British possessions ; the real ques- 
tion involved, however, was whether the proclamation of 
Nov. 16, 1895, annexing Bechuanaland to Cape Colony 
operated as a proclamation of the Foreign Enlistment Act 
in respect to British Bechuanaland. With the latter con- 
struction of the act the proceedings against the defendants 
would be a violation of the act. The question turned upon 
the effect of the proclamation which brought into force the 
act for the annexation of British Bechuanaland to Cape 
Colony. He was cognizant of the fact that at the date 
upon which the act went into effect, many incidents re- 
counted in the evidence had taken place at Mafeking and 
it applied to those defendants who had started to Mafek- 
ing and to the preparations which they had there com- 
pleted. With regard to those who had started from Pit- 



264 A Looker On in London 

sani-Potlugo, the point with which the Crown would have 
to deal, was that it had never been a part of the British 
dominions but lay within the Bechuanaland protectorate, 
and without the area known as British Bechuanaland an- 
nexed to Cape Colony. It would be held that nothing oc- 
curred at Pitsani which could be construed as a violation 
of the Enlistments Act, which was in force only in British 
territory. It was stated, finally, that it would be con- 
venient to include this argument in the notes of the case, 
but in view of the gravity of the questions to be consid- 
ered he would not submit any formal argument in that 
court. The Attorney-General objected to Sir Edward 
Clarke's geographical assertions and disputed the propo- 
sition that Pitsani was not a part of the British posses- 
sions. He also said, that he did not desire to argue the 
point at that time, but, as counsel for the prosecution, 
would state that he meant to ask what should be done in 
the case. When the fifteen defendants first arrived in Eng- 
land neither he nor the counsel for the defense had any 
facts or materials that would enable them to discriminate 
between their respective cases. The story gathered from 
papers submitted to them since, was, that all the defend- 
ants had taken part in the expedition and had been cap- 
tured by the Transvaal forces. They had been sent home 
that whatever might be deemed the right course should be 
pursued in their prosecution; until during the past week 
he had been in no position to draw any distinction be- 
tween degrees of responsibility attached to the defendants. 
He had been of the opinion that those responsible for the 
fitting out the expedition, and inducing persons to join it, 
were the persons who should be prosecuted, and he would 
show at once that there was a line to be drawn between 
them. The entire force captured was 500 men, and if 
merely joining the expedition would be sufficient grounds 
for prosecution, it would be impossible for the Crown to 



Cipher Messages 265 

differentiate between the leaders, subordinate officers and 
troopers. With the assistance of Mr. Rawlinson, who had 
obtained valuable evidence in the Transvaal, representing 
Her Majesty's government, he was able to present to the 
court the line of demarcation to be drawn, and would ask 
the committal of six of the defendants, upon evidence of 
their being prominently engaged in the scheme, the prepa- 
ration and the fitting out of the expedition, and inducing 
others to join it, for the present, whatever the court might 
decide subsequently, must be regarded as unlawful. These 
six principals were Dr. Leander Starr Jameson, Major 
Sir John Willoughby, Col. the Hon. Frederick White, Col. 
Raleigh Grey, Major the Hon. Robert White and Major 
the Hon. Charles John Coventry. As these names were 
pronounced there was a suppressed excitement which, 
however, did not approach a marked demonstration. Dr. 
Jameson's ready blush asserted itself and, as he had done 
once or twice before during the prosecution, he changed his 
position somewhat nervously ; Coventry was unabashed, 
but the remaining four were not perceptibly impressed by 
what he seemed to consider the humor of the situation. 
Those whose fate was yet in abeyance listened with the 
rest and with an apparent determination to betray no sur- 
prise, whatever the decision of the Attorney-General 
might be. After the murmur which followed the an- 
nouncement of the six names had subsided, the Attorney- 
General declared that he would be personally responsible 
for whatever might result, as he, individually, had selected 
the defendants to be held for trial, his decision being 
prompted by the very serious nature of the evidence 
against them. For their subordinates there was evidence 
to show that they had taken part in the expedition, but 
there was nothing that would justify him in asking the 
court to hold that they had been engaged in the prepara- 
tion of the expedition, or had done more than obey the or- 



266 A Looker On in London 

ders of their leaders at the last moment. He did not wish 
to minimize the responsibility that rested upon men and 
officers of Her Majesty's army who took part in such an 
expedition as this ; but he felt bound to draw a distinction, 
as it was his duty to prosecute those who, if he might use 
the expression, were really responsible; not those who 
were simply led, possibly by their folly, want of judgment 
or impetuosity, to participate in it. He, therefore, asked 
the court to commit the six first named, but did not ask 
the committal of the remaining nine. There was another 
murmur at this announcement, the defendants with the 
exception of Dr. Jameson, smiling as before — the liber- 
ated nine, with rather rueful countenances, as if they were 
not willing to desert the others whose fate they preferred 
to share. Dr. Jameson, alone, gave no sign that he had 
heard the Attorney-General's decision. He sat in his ac- 
customed attitude, with averted eyes, supporting his cheek 
upon his hand; he seemed to suffer, notwithstanding his 
assumed indifference, and drops of perspiration stood out 
upon his forehead. 

There was an instant's hum of whispered comment, 
which the Boers present heard with an indifference which 
matched that of the English themselves ; if they were dis- 
satisfied and disappointed they were too reticent and too 
respectful to the court to betray any feeling. This had 
been their attitude from the first. The only hint as to their 
sentiments was shown by the manner in which they kept 
together — sitting or standing in groups by themselves. 

With the fine courtesy, which, without a single excep- 
tion had characterized the entire proceedings, from the 
manner of the learned counsel toward each other and to- 
ward the witnesses, to the gentleness and dignity of the 
Magistrate himself, Sir Edward Clarke replied that he de- 
sired to recognize the way in which the Attorney-General 
had fulfilled the promise he had made to him, in the earlier 



Cipher Messages 267 

stages of the proceedings, that he would endeavor to dis- 
criminate in the case of the defendants originally submit- 
ted, if the facts, which were ascertained in material sub- 
mitted to him, justified it. With regard to the six gentle- 
men held for trial, he recognized that there were state- 
ments in the evidence which prevented his learned friend, 
at that moment, from saying that he had no case against 
them. He did not propose, at that time, to comment upon 
the question of committal based upon the evidence which 
had compelled his learned friend to ask for committal in 
the case of some of the defendants. Although at that time 
he had been unable to pursue any other course, he still 
hoped that, when the case was concluded, the action in re- 
gard to the nine who had been released might be somewhat 
further extended. The desire was to bring to justice those 
who really were responsible for the expedition whose his- 
tory and circumstances had been inquired into. He spoke 
upon personal instructions from Dr. Jameson himself, 
which he hoped Sir Richard Webster would realize when 
he came to examine the evidence, that it was Dr. Jame- 
son's responsibility alone which was to be found in the 
matter. 

When this statement was made, which was somewhat 
theatrical in intent and effect, Dr. Jameson looked up 
quickly and searchingly at his counsel and then turned 
away. The strange and inexplicable magnetism of his 
personality, marked at all times, had never been more pro- 
nounced than at that moment. His confederates did not 
smile, but glanced at him with an expression of sympathy 
and admiration, which seemed to imply that if other expe- 
ditions were contemplated he might count upon them to 
follow him again to the bitter end. The women on the 
bench also looked their admiration ; the only persons ap- 
parently unimpressed were the Magistrate, the counsel for 
the Crown, the Africanders and a small and unimportant 



268 A Looker On in London 

minority who had not been able to participate in the gen- 
eral hero-worship, the outburst of sentimental enthusiasm ; 
or to forget the gravity of Dr. Jameson's offense and the 
air of meretricious romance that had invested it from the 
first, in the unthinking public mind. Sir Edward Clarke, 
who may not have been conscious that he carried his audi- 
ence with him, still continued to concentrate the responsi- 
bility upon the shoulders of Mr. Cecil Rhodes' luckless 
scapegoat. "He (Dr. Jameson) was the administrator 
under the charter of the British South Africa company," 
he said, "and under the orders in council which gave that 
company power to have an armed company under his con- 
trol and authority. He desires me to say here, that all 
who acted with him, acted under his control and dictum 
and if there was any breach of law committed by those 
who planned and organized the expedition that breach of 
law was committed by him ; so far as the others were con- 
cerned, any violation of the law committed by them was 
only in loyal obedience to orders which they thought they 
had a right to obey." 

This constituted a really effective rhetorical climax 
w r hich, in a modern melodrama, would have carried the 
gallery off its feet. There was another audible murmur 
of approval, which was suppressed only by a timely warn- 
ing from the clerk, but it was with some effort that the 
more emotional and demonstrative remained silent. When 
Sir Edward Clarke had finished and sat down, Sir John 
Bridge concurred in the opinion of the Attorney-General 
and said that the distinction made seemed right and 
proper. The nine gentlemen mentioned were to be dis- 
charged. When soldiers under orders committed illegal 
acts, they were not answerable for those acts. Therefore 
to pursue a prosecution where there could be no real pun- 
ishment would be an idle and improper thing to do. His 
first duty, therefore, and it was a pleasant one, was to dis- 



Cipher Messages 269 

charge the nine defendants, John B. Stracey, C. H. Vil- 
liers, K. J. Kincaid Smith, H. M. Grenfell, C. P. Foley, 
C. L. D. Monroe, C. F. Lindsell, E. C. S. Holden and 
Audrey Gosling. 

The applause could no longer be restrained and broke 
out, with moderation, it must be acknowledged, and with 
only a brief disturbance of the excellent order that had 
been maintained. It was speedily checked by the Magis- 
trate who remarked ominously : 

"Wait till it is all finished." 

He then resumed : "I must next charge Leander Starr 
Jameson, John Christopher Willoughby, Henry Frederick 
White, Raleigh Grey, Robert White, Charles John Coven- 
try." They were thereupon informed that they would 
be permitted in the ordinary way, to make any statement 
in reference to the charge brought against them. There 
was a pause and the kindly glance of the Magistrate rested 
upon them, but all were apparently satisfied, and none 
were disposed to demur at the decision of the court. These 
proceedings had occupied less than an hour and there was 
an adjournment until four o'clock, in order that the six 
defendants held might procure bail which was fixed in 
the sum of £3,000; £2,000 personal bail and £1,000 se- 
curity, as the English law required. This was furnished 
without delay, all the formalities having been complied 
with when the court reconvened in the afternoon, and the 
trial for committal came to an end. 



CHAPTER XXIII 

BEFORE THE LORD CHIEF JUSTICE 

The trial of Dr. Jameson and his five confederates who 
had been held to answer at the higher court before the 
Lord Chief Justice and the Associate Justices, began on 
Monday, July 20. In the interval since their committal 
the public mind had been engrossed with the events of 
the season and the progress with the war in South Africa. 
Hostilities had broken out suddenly in the Filibusi 
district, seventy-five miles southeast of Buluwayo on the 
25th of March, and before the natives were finally sub- 
dued over 400 white settlers had been massacred ; men and 
women living on lands remote from towns and villages 
were surprised and cruelly murdered and their dwellings 
burned ; many were forced to flee for safety and seek 
refuge at Buluwayo and elsewhere. All this served to 
lessen the general admiration that had been felt for Dr. 
Jameson, and forced the public to some just perception of 
the case, which they were at last beginning to regard in its 
true light. 

The trial in the higher court differed in every way from 
that of the lower ; it was far more formal and ceremonious, 
although, but for the coming and going of spectators and 
witnesses during the sessions, the proceedings in the Bow 
street court had been conducted in the most admirable 
manner. The rule as to admission was even more strictly 
enforced in the higher court, which was termed the 
Queen's Bench division, and there was no admission ex- 

270 



Before the Lord Chief Justice 271 

cept by ticket, which it was even more difficult than ever to 
secure. The trial was conducted in what is known as the 
High Court of Justice. The court room, itself, was small, 
and plainly furnished. The chair in which the Lord Chief 
Justice sat occupied the center of the bench, with those of 
the Associate Justices to the right and left ; before them 
was a desk strewn with papers which were frequently con- 
sulted. Behind the chair of the Lord Chief Justice against 
the panelled wall, were the arms of Great Britain carved 
in high relief, and to the right and left of this, reaching 
to the floor a long and somewhat faded plush curtain. Be- 
low the bench was a table which was heaped with books, 
maps and legal documents at which sat the clerk of the 
court and his assistants. The seats on the main floor were 
arranged in tiers ; those in front, at the right, were occu- 
pied by the Attorney-General, the Solicitor-General, Mr. 
H. Sutton, Mr. Charles Mathews ; Mr. H. Avory repre- 
senting the Treasury. To the left were the counsel for the 
defendants, Sir Edward Clarke, Sir F. Lockwood, who 
has since died, Mr. Carson, Mr. Lyttleton, Mr. C. F. Gill, 
Mr. Roskill and others. Behind these, two benches ex- 
tended the entire width of the court room which were 
crowded with young solicitors and barristers, a limited 
number of whom were permitted to hear the proceedings 
each day. Still behind these were the seats for the repre- 
sentatives of the press, who had been furnished with no 
conveniences of any sort for writing their reports. Their 
blocks of paper were balanced awkwardly on their knees, 
and they had great difficulty in sharpening their lead 
pencils; the stenographers fared better, being supplied 
with small desks attached to the back of the bench in front 
of them, in a convenient corner. The last two rows of 
benches, with a small gallery opposite the bench, and what 
is called a "form" — a bench without a back — constituted 
the accommodations furnished the public. 



272 A Looker On in London 

Dr. Jameson, Col. White and Major Willoughby had 
spent the month that had elapsed since their committal 
fishing in Norway: all were tanned a ruddy brown, and 
Dr. Jameson seemed much improved in health and spirits. 
They were dressed in the extreme of the London fashion, 
and came into the court room apparently fresh from the 
hands of their valets. 

There was no door marked "For Prisoners;" they en- 
tered unattended, quietly and almost unobserved, and took 
the front seat which had been reserved for them. There 
had been an announcement that no women would be per- 
mitted to sit upon the bench as they had been allowed to do 
in the lower court, the little gallery and the two rear 
benches having been set apart for them. One, however, 
was bold enough to defy even the Lord Chief Justice, and, 
wearing a becoming gown of gray, she sat placidly waving 
her fan, only partially hidden by a pillar. As before, there 
were among the spectators many distinguished personages 
— men and women of high rank and well known in fash- 
ionable society, one or two of whom had been somewhat 
prominently identified with Dr. Jameson since the begin- 
ning of the preliminary proceedings. 

Prior to the arrival of the counsel, a number of clerks 
appeared with heavy bags of books and documents, while 
others went about placing upon the desks slips of paper, 
and all this as solemnly as if they had been distributing 
prayer books in church. At eleven o'clock a black-robed 
official cried "Silence !" the whispering ceased, and every 
one rose — counsel, barristers, defendants and spectators. 
Then the Lord Chief Justice entered with Justice Hawkins 
and Justice Pollock ; each wore a gown of brilliant scarlet 
with cuffs and collar of black moire, with white linen 
bands at the throat, and plain wigs, unlike those worn by 
the barristers. The Lord Chief Justice bowed to the bar, 
then to the jury upon the left hand and took his seat, after 



Before the Lord Chief Justice 273 

which the court and the audience were also seated. The 
jury appeared to be a sufficiently intelligent body of men, 
although two of the twelve seemed rather young to judge 
the merits of so important a case. Two were of the pro- 
nounced Semitic cast of countenance, three at least ap- 
peared to be Irishmen, while the remainder were probably 
English clerks or tradesmen. The witness box here, was 
a space enclosed in a railing on a level with the bench, fac- 
ing the jury. 

The entrance of the three justices in their robes of of- 
fice, the grave decorum of the bar, also in their wigs and 
gowns, made a very picturesque spectacle. Lord Russell 
of Killowen, the Lord Chief Justice, was a man of impos- 
ing appearance, of dignified carriage and of very com- 
manding presence. His features were irregular and mas- 
sive, with a prominent nose, straight lips and keen, pierc- 
ing eyes, and he bore a marked resemblance to the Stuart 
portraits of Washington. He is an Irishman and a Ro- 
man Catholic. Justice Hawkins was a round-faced rosy 
man with what seemed to be a somewhat grim sense of 
humor. Justice Pollock was his direct opposite, and was 
thin and slender with an angular face deeply seamed with 
wrinkles. When he laughed he closed his eyes and com- 
pressed his lips, and then in a twinkling assumed his ordi- 
nary expression. While Lord Russell unbent occasionally 
and laughed heartily and naturally, he was ordinarily very 
reserved. Nothing escaped his close attention and it be- 
came at once evident that he would permit no trifling with 
his official dignity. His voice was mellow, though rather 
low, and his enunciation was pleasing and perfectly dis- 
tinct. His comments as the case progressed were more 
frequent and emphatic than those of Sir John Bridge, in 
the lower court, and his questions were put in a manner 
which implied that the briefest and most straightforward 
reply was the part of wisdom. 



274 



A Looker On in London 



The first proceeding in this second phase of the case, 
which had been essentially dramatic throughout, was that 
of the Master of the Rolls who read from his lists the of- 
ficial title of the cause: "The Queen versus Jameson and 
others." In an effort to quash the indictment Sir Edward 
Clarke took exception to its wording — the jury not having 
yet been sworn in. His objection was based upon the in- 
terpretation of the Enlistment Acts, and an argument en- 
sued which prompted the Lord Chief Justice to decide 
that, as the question disputed appeared to be somewhat 
complicated, time was necessary for its sufficient consid- 
eration ; the court accordingly adjourned. As the jury was 
ready and waiting, this unforeseen delay was very disap- 
pointing. 

The burning heat of Monday held through Tuesday 
when the court re-convened, and, if possible, was intensi- 
fied; the distinguished justices and barristers sweltered 
and perspired in their stuffy wigs and gowns. 

The Lord Chief Justice spoke for half an hour in tones 
that were nearly inaudible, delivering a decision of which 
the substance was that he had found it impossible to ac- 
cept Sir Edward Clarke's motion to quash the indictment. 
While he spoke, the most profound silence prevailed ; and 
every one listened with the deepest attention. It is hardly 
probable that Sir Edward Clarke had built much hope 
upon the expedient that he had employed, and if he and 
his clients were disappointed they concealed their feeling. 
The decision of the bench being delivered, the jury was 
sworn in — a formality that had been postponed twenty- 
four hours, to no purpose, by Sir Edward Clarke's motion. 
The twelve men were not what in the United States are 
called professional jurors, it being possible that such a 
class does exist in Great Britain. Several were noticeably 
reluctant to serve. One man — a Mr. Spinnett — complained 



Before the Lord Chief Justice 275 

that he had done jury service in the Temple within a fort- 
night. 

The Chief Justice was not disposed to accept this as an 
excuse, but he finally relented. 

A man named Gordon promptly informed the court 
that he "was a friend of one of the defendants," and he, 
also, was excused. 

Another, apparently taking it for granted that his sanity 
would be questioned, confessed that he was a theosophist, 
and was surprised that this did not disqualify him from 
duty. The requisite number was at length secured and 
sworn, taking their places, four men in each seat arranged 
in three tiers, one above the other. 

The case for the Crown was opened with a speech 
by the Attorney-General which was, in substance, a review 
of the relations of England and the Transvaal, agreed 
upon in conventions and affirmed in treaties ; the authority 
of the Protectorate was explained with that of the 
Chartered Company, extending over British Bechuana- 
land, Mashonaland, Matabeleland and Cape Colony. He 
repeated his charge that every detail of the raid "had been 
secretly and carefully thought out by men in prominent 
and reputable positions." The disputed Foreign Enlist- 
ments Act of 1870 had been in force ever since British 
Bechuanaland had been annexed in 1885, and was in every 
mile of territory acquired by Cape Colony or the Char- 
tered Company which became a possession of the crown. 
Sir Edward Clarke objected, now and then, with a good 
deal of spirit, questioning a fact or a figure in the lengthy 
review, but failed either to annoy or disconcert the dis- 
tinguished speaker. Once Sir Edward Clarke, assuming 
that he had caught his antagonist napping, asked him if 
he really meant to say that "Pitsani was a part of the 
Queen's dominions." 

"I do not say so," was the reply. 



276 A Looker On in London 

At this, the Lord Chief Justice wished to know if there 
were two places, Pitsani, and Pitsani-Potlugo, and was in- 
formed by the Attorney-General that there were. They 
had been obtained from a native chief, Montsioa, in secur- 
ing right of way for a railroad which was being con- 
structed through the territory. The land was ceded to the 
Chartered Company and, therefore, became a part of the 
Queen's Dominions. 

Harry Lambert, a clerk in the colonial office, then testi- 
fied as to the official position and responsibility of the de- 
fendants in South Africa. 

Major Panzera, the engineer, who had testified at Bow 
street as to the topography of Bechuanaland, corrobo- 
rated a statement that Pitsani-Potlugo had been ceded to 
the Chartered Company by Montsioa and that it was, as 
had been stated, within the Queen's dominions. 

Comparatively little evidence was re-heard in the higher 
court, the proceedings at Bow street including the evi- 
dence, having been printed and copies furnished the jus- 
tices, jurors and counsel. The last of the evidence was 
submitted on Thursday and Friday; the post-master of 
Mafeking, Henry Hamilton Flowers, described the cut- 
ting of the telegraph wires, and said that, in addition to 
this, the instruments were taken from the office at Pitsani 
and the wires, which had been in perfect working order 
Dec. 29th, having been connected by a switch. 

Trooper Lawler of the Matabeleland mounted police 
who went with the troop from Buluwayo to Pitsani, Dec. 
29, testified that the wires at Malmani had been cut, and 
that he had passed a trooper of the Bechuanaland police 
with an axe in his hand. They were in laager Jan. 3. 

"We had better have that translated," said the Lord 
Chief Justice, turning toward the witness who, thus ad- 
vised, explained that the term "laager" meant "the forma- 
tion of troops for rest." Wednesday morning he had seen 



Before the Lord Chief Justice 277 

a man in civilian's dress, not attached to the troops, talking 
to Col. White but he could not recall the conversation. 
When urged, he finally admitted that he had heard the 
man tell Col. White that the road was clear to Dornkoop 
and that there was a force of Boers there. 

Lawler was asked if he remembered anything else and 
replied : 

"Yes," he said, "there were men at the mines who were 
anxious to join us, and Col. White had replied that he 
could mount sixty men." 

In the midst of the brief cross-examination the Lord 
Chief Justice asked, 

"Could you say whether he was an Englishman?" 

The witness hesitated, and then replied, 

"I do not think he was Dutch, my Lord." 

The remainder of the cross-examination pertained to 
letters and messages delivered to Dr. Jameson. 

Rowland, the bicyclist, repeated his story and he men- 
tioned the message from the Reform Committee which 
he had delivered to Dr. Jameson. 

"I call for those dispatches," said the Solicitor-General 
who was conducting the examination, turning to Sir Ed- 
ward Clarke, who remained silent. 

The dispatches not being forthcoming, the witness gave 
the substance of them — at the Queen Battery (the mine) 
there was an obstacle; in the second dispatch something 
had been said of 2,000 men who were to be sent out from 
Johannesburg to meet Dr. Jameson's forces. He could 
not remember from whom the dispatches had come ; there 
was also one in which it was stated that Johannesburg re- 
mained quiet. He gave Dr. Jameson a translation of the 
dispatches that had been given by the Boers which stated 
that Commanders Malen, Crouje, Trichard and Erasmus 
would join Potgeiter at Krugersdorp in the afternoon. 
There were other men with Dr. Jameson at the time these 



278 A Looker On in London 

dispatches were delivered and they were surprised that 
no rioting had taken place in Johannesburg. Rowland 
informed them that the Boer police had been withdrawn, 
the residents armed, the shops barricaded, the town having 
been well policed by the Reform Committee. It was ar- 
ranged that if the messenger returned in safety they were 
to bring out the 2,000 men which, while it was thought 
that they would not be needed, "would make a bit of a 
show." On their return Rowland and Cellier, his com- 
panion, had been arrested, as he had stated before. The 
young man, even in the presence of the Lord Chief Jus- 
tice retained his perfect self-confidence, and fidgetted with- 
out ceasing, as he had done before, folding and unfolding 
his arms, and swaying back and forth against the railing 
in front of him. Sir Edward Clarke read from the printed 
evidence that "there was very great alarm in Johannes- 
burg about the women and children." 

The Lord Chief Justice who followed the evidence with 
close attention, read after him the printed copy upon the 
desk under his hand, and reminded Sir Edward that the 
exact words, as printed, were "much alarm," a correction 
which was accepted. 

The only incident of note throughout the re-examina- 
tion was furnished by Tossel, the Chief Detective of the 
South African Republic. He again took the oath after 
the Dutch custom, holding up the index and middle fingers 
of the right hand. 

There was some indication that the evidence might be 
discredited which Tossel had formerly given, to the effect 
that the Boer police had been withdrawn because a col- 
lision was feared with the towns-people in Johannesburg ; 
that the order was as good there as in other places, there 
being only a few desperadoes, such as may be found in 
other towns. He was then asked if his name was May or 
Tossel. This question was unexpected and the man was 



Before the Lord Chief Justice 279 

much embarrassed; he turned to the Lord Chief Justice 
and asked appealingly : 

"My Lord, must I answer that question?" 

His lordship replied: 

"Yes, certainly." 

Tossel then admitted that he was an Englishman and 
told a somewhat remarkable story. He said that his real 
name was May, and that he had enlisted when he went to 
Cape Town in 188 1, but was dissuaded by his brother 
from remaining in the service, and secured a substitute to 
whom he paid £10; they exchanged names, the substitute 
being known as "May," and he as "Tossel." May, the 
substitute, got into trouble and had some difficulty with 
an officer named Major Bowen. Hearing this, the real 
May went to Major Bowen, who acknowledged that he 
had never seen him before and did not know him. 

"Have you ever been tried ?" asked Sir Edward Clarke, 
in a somewhat tantalizing tone. 

"No sir ; not till now," replied Tossel with a great deal 
of asperity. 

At this unexpected retort, by which the learned counsel 
for the defense was rather taken aback, there was a good 
deal of laughter in which the Lord Chief Justice and his 
two associates joined very heartily. 

Tossel then continued his story and gave an account 
of his connection with the Johannesburg police in 1895. 
When he had finished, the Lord Chief Justice asked that 
"the mystery of the change of names be cleared up," which 
no doubt was done satisfactorily, as nothing further was 
heard of it. 

Lieut. Eloff repeated the evidence he had given con- 
cerning the fighting at the mine. He spoke somewhat 
brokenly, but intelligibly, though in so low a tone that the 
Lord Chief Justice had to say repeatedly, though with no 
impatience, "Speak up! speak up," and finally asked the 



280 A Looker On in London 

witness "to face the jury." ElofFs manly bearing again 
made an excellent impression. 

The famous dispatch boxes were once more brought 
into the court and were again identified, and, after a little, 
Sir Thomas Sanderson of the Foreign Office produced the 
original of two conventions with the Transvaal, showing 
that friendly relations existed between England and the 
South African Republic, "no license having been issued by 
the Queen," previous to Dr. Jameson's expedition. The 
signature of President Kriiger, Dr. Jameson and his of- 
ficers were again identified by Fleischack and the incrimi- 
nating letters to "Dear Bobby" were read — those enjoin- 
ing secrecy and deprecating the fact that one Foley had 
been talking too much, "not intentionally but idiotically ;" 
that some one "had been blabbing," and that "the almost 
certain date of the expedition had been fixed for Decem- 
ber 29th." 

This practically closed the case for the prosecution, al- 
though it was announced that there was still a mass of 
documentary evidence which would have to be submitted, 
since it was to furnish the gist of the plan for the defense 
which was, that the Foreign Enlishments Act violated by 
the raiders had no force in Pitsani, or Pitsani-Potlugo, 
where their operations had been largely carried on, and 
which had been ceded the Chartered Company by Mont- 
sioa. Friday was devoted to this reading, and order in 
council, followed order in council, dull, technical and a lit- 
tle bewildering to all but the justices and the counsel, but 
necessary and important as evidence. Though singly and 
collectively they set forth the authority of the Crown 
there, as elsewhere, in South Africa, Sir Edward Clarke 
perseveringly endeavored to prove the contrary. A por- 
tion of the documents had been worded rather ambigu- 
ously and, in emergencies were consequently confusing 
and misleading. Availing himself of the privilege of the 



Before the Lord Chief Justice 281 

doubt wherever it was possible, the counsel for the de- 
fense continued to assert that the act was not in force 
either at Mafeking or Pitsani-Potlugo, and that such an 
act could be legalized only by direct legislation within 
British territory itself. 

The Lord Chief Justice replied to this in his coldest, 
most judicial and sardonic manner, that "indictments un- 
der the common law were not impossible when there had 
been a lawless effort to embroil England with friendly 
states." 

Indeed, throughout the entire reading of these docu- 
ments, with copies of which he also had been supplied, 
Lord Russell displayed the most extraordinary knowledge 
of the case, even in its minutest and apparently most un- 
important details; correcting the counsel when they read 
carelessly or not quite accurately, now reminding them 
that "Mafeking was in British Bechuanaland, but that 
Pitsani-Potlugo was outside it, farther north;" now in- 
forming Sir Robert Finlay, the Solicitor-General, that, 
"the original charter of the British South African Com- 
pany, granted Oct. 29, 1889, included all operations in 
British Bechuanaland." 

Sir Edward Clarke rose once to observe that "the char- 
ter excluded the authority of the Crown within the limits 
of the Company's foreign jurisdiction act." 

He was informed by the court, and rather sternly, "that 
full power was reserved by the Secretary of State" and 
when the learned counsel for the defense attempted to 
point out certain apparent inconsistencies in the wording 
of the charter, the Lord Chief Justice turned toward him 
and asked in a tone still more rebuking : 

"You don't suggest that the company assumed sovereign 
rights?" 

At this Sir Edward replied earnestly and apologetically : 
"O no, My Lord!" 



282 A Looker On in London 

It was agreed that the speech for the defense by Sir 
Edward Clarke should be postponed until Monday the 
following week July 27th ; that body being quite worn out, 
several of them noticeably drowsy with the heat and 
fatigue of listening to the long and intricate discussion, 
interlarded with technical quotations from charters, 
orders in council and proclamations. 

On Monday, therefore, at eleven o'clock the audience 
and the court re-assembled in anticipation of the great 
forensic effort, which it was certain that Sir Edward 
Clarke would make. 

The six defendants were late in arriving, and Dr. Jame- 
son did not appear until several minutes after the court 
had convened. He then came hurrying in, flushed and 
disturbed, but much more cheerful than he had appeared 
to be at any time during the trial ; he doubtless felt that 
the long strain was almost over, and that the verdict 
would be a relief from the protracted suspense which he 
had endured. 

Sir Edward Clarke rose and addressed the jury without 
any preamble. His voice was pleasing in the extreme, his 
manner easy and graceful and he showed himself to be a 
master of finished rhetoric ; his gestures were few, though 
effective, and he possessed the faculty of holding the at- 
tention of his hearers to a degree that surpassed the At- 
torney-General. Sir Richard Webster, on the other hand, 
was less polished in point of delivery ; he occasionally fell 
into a negligent attitude ; he spoke rapidly and not always 
with perfect enunciation, which made it difficult to hear 
all that he said. At the same time, whatever he may have 
lacked in manner was more than atoned for, intellect- 
ually ; he proved himself a logician of logicians, and, in 
the simplest and most direct language, without a super- 
fluous word, in his masterly review of the case with its 
mass of evidence, that of the witnesses, of the heaped-up 



Before the Lord Chief Justice 283 

documents, of the significant maps dated Oct. 8, 1895, he 
dealt the defense blow after blow, demolishing their argu- 
ments one after another. 

Sir Edward Clarke gave notice that he was there to 
represent "four gentlemen of honor, of repute, unques- 
tioned loyalty, and of high character, now charged with a 
criminal offense." He said that he made no appeal for 
sympathy, for that would be unworthy of his clients. He 
turned to Dr. Jameson who, he said with much feeling, 
had desired to accept the entire responsibility for the acts 
that had led to the present proceedings. He then en- 
deavored to prove that the condition of affairs in Johan- 
nesburg, the safety of women and children being involved, 
had inspired Jameson to go to their defense. The Boer 
police had been withdrawn, and the witness, Tossel, had 
shown that there were dangerous desperadoes in the town. 
He dwelt with some emphasis on the surprise that Dr. 
Jameson had manifested when he learned from Rowland, 
the bicyclist, that there had been no disturbance in Jo- 
hannesburg; he asserted he had gone on a peaceful mis- 
sion, and secrecy was necessary because it was known that 
the Boers would send them back if their intention to in- 
tervene were suspected ; the expedition had failed, life had 
been sacrificed, complications had arisen through an error 
of the heart rather than of the reason. What would have 
been said had there been dire need of such a rescue — and 
that the women and children had been sent away certainly 
pointed to this — and the men had failed to respond ? He 
then reverted to the old contention — British jurisdiction 
in the disputed territory, the prerogatives of the Char- 
tered Company, the authority of the Imperial government 
and the provisions of the vexed and vexing Foreign En- 
listment Act, all of which was once more presented at 
some length. Dr. Jameson believed that he was going to 
the aid of his friends, but Sir Edward failed to explain 



284 A Looker On in London 

away the cold facts of Maxim guns, Lee-Metford rifles, 
abundance of ammunition, pre-arranged stores, and care- 
ful and accurate maps that ante-dated the raid by more 
than two months. He said, in conclusion, and not with- 
out effect : 

"I believe that when a soldier has been convicted of a 
military offense and condemned to die, and when the firing 
party has been told off, some of the rifles are loaded with 
blank cartridges so that each man may comfort himself 
with the thought that 'perhaps it was not I who put an end 
to my comrade's life.' A jury has no such resource. 
Your verdict must be the verdict of each and all of you, 
and on each the responsibility rests, and I have put 
before you such a view of the motives, the conduct and 
the acts of the defendants, that when the question is put 
to you you will be able to say in all honor and conscience 
that you do not believe them guilty." 

The speech occupied something over two hours. Sir 
Frank Lockwood followed with a special appeal for Major 
Coventry and Sir John Willoughby. Its leading points 
were a corroboration of Sir Edward Clarke's argument 
which was frequently complimented. He spoke less than 
half an hour and concluded thus : 

"My learned friend well pointed out to you what would 
have been the reproach these gentlemen would have 
rendered themselves liable to had they not set out to take 
the part which they were bound, as men of honor, to take 
on behalf of those to whom they were attached by the 
ties of honor and kinship. I have done all I can for them, 
and am conscious it is not much ; but this further I can 
do — and that is, to claim on these general grounds that 
they have a verdict from your hands. They await it with 
anxiety, perhaps with apprehension. It is a matter of vast 
and vital importance to them and to those who hold them 
in high regard. I do not seek to minimize in any way 



Before the Lord Chief Justice 285 

your verdict when I say that even should it be an adverse 
one, and their liberty become forfeit, they have this con- 
sciousness; that they have acted as they have always 
acted, as brave and honorable men." 

In delivery, in rhetorical finish, the Attorney-General, 
who closed the argument for the defense, was surpassed at 
every point by his chief opponent ; but in the greater es- 
sential of the summing up of evidence, and the compre- 
hensive interpretation of the law, the fluent and brilliant 
oratory of Sir Edward Clarke seemed the merest child's 
play. Throughout the long trial, unavoidably delayed 
through four months by frequent remands, the Attorney- 
General had given the counsel for the defense every as- 
sistance that lay in his power; everything in the nature 
of documentary evidence that he required had been 
promptly and generously supplied by the representatives 
of the Crown, who could not be blamed if the defense 
were not armed and equipped at every point. But each 
line of argument that Sir Edward Clarke sought to pre- 
sent, every fact that he brought forward, every extenuat- 
ing circumstance that he proffered as an excuse for his 
clients, was swept aside by the relentless logic of the 
prosecution. The Attorney-General resorted to no tricks 
of oratory; he made no appeal to sympathy, but based 
his plea solidly upon the facts as they had been reviewed 
from day to day. It affected the emotions as little as a 
methematical problem, but it commended itself irresisti- 
bly to the intelligence and the reason of his hearers. 

Lacking Sir Edward Clarke's magnetism, nevertheless 
he commanded an undivided attention from the first word 
he uttered, and maintained it without effort to the last. 
He said by way of preface, addressing the jury: 

"Everything has been urged in behalf of the defendants 
that could be urged before you to-day, and it would be 
impertinence in me to comment on the speeches made to 



286 A Looker On in London 

you. You are qualified to appreciate their force and 
weight. I confess it was a little difficult to reconcile, how- 
ever, some of the epithets of Sir Edward Clarke with the 
stern facts proved in evidence in this court. We are told 
that the expedition — into the doings of which we have to 
inquire — was unselfish, patriotic and humanitarian. It is 
not denied that Maf eking is a part of her Majesty's do- 
minions, and that it has been since 1895, and made lawful 
by proclamation. It is not denied that for fifteen years 
before that the Foreign Enlistment Act was the law of 
Cape Colony. It was, therefore, an unlawful act for the 
defendants to take part in an unlawful expedition, as they 
must have known that was against Cape Colony law. 
When Bechuanaland was united to the Cape the fullest 
validity was given to the orders." 

And thus the summing up proceeded; the jurisdiction 
of protectorates was defined, and he quoted, as he took 
pains to explain, a learned writer who had declared that 
"Protectorates are, at the start, a vague notion, so far as 
they involve sovereign powers, but they harden into sov- 
ereignty." Every step of the raid was reviewed, from its 
first deliberate inception to its inglorious finish, and the 
theory that it was a peaceful expedition, undertaken for 
the relief of imperiled women and children, was clearly 
disproved in the secrecy that was maintained, the stores 
previously provided, the equipments, the drilling of troops, 
the orders for the disposition of scouts and pickets; he 
scorned the belief that the women and children of Jo- 
hannesburg were in any manner of danger. In regard to 
the Boers he said : 

"With reference to the action of Dr. Jameson at Pitsani, 
there is no word about desperadoes in the letter from 
Johannesburg. It is the well-armed Boers who are sup- 
posed to be imperiling the women and children there. 
There has been, at times, strong feeling excited between 



Before the Lord Chief Justice 287 

Great Britain and the Boers; but I submit to you that 
these defendants did not believe that the Boers, armed or 
unarmed, would be a danger to the women and children 
of Johannesburg. The latter was perfectly inconsistent 
with the view now put forward. If the fear was that the 
desperadoes of Johannesburg were going to fight, one of 
the most obvious means of preventing that would have 
been to let it be known that such an expedition was ap- 
proaching; but the wires were cut, not to prevent the 
desperadoes from getting warning, but to prevent the 
Boers from getting warning. There are two or three in- 
cidents that confirm what I have suggested. One of the 
first remonstrances against the expedition was that of the 
commandant of the Marigo district, to which Dr. Jameson 
replied that he was going to assist the residents of the 
Rand in their demand for justice. Do you think if he was 
going to protect Johannesburg against the desperadoes 
that he would have said so? From whom, and from 
whom alone, could they demand that justice but from 
the government of the Transvaal ? Again, before a shot 
was fired, when warned on behalf of Her Majesty's gov- 
ernment against this violation of Transvaal territory, and 
ordered back, the leader and organizer of the expedition 
has an opportunity of stating that he is only going to pro- 
tect life and property and keep the peace at Johannes- 
burg, and his reply to the bearer of the message is : "Tell 
your superior that his orders will be attended to." It is 
impossible to suppose that such an answer would have 
been sent by Dr. Jameson, if the case had been as my 
learned friends suggest. So with regard to the answer 
to the message from Sir Jacobus de Wet. The afternoon 
before he shelled the Queen battery he knew that there 
was no fighting in Johannesburg, and if the suggestion of 
Sir Edward Clarke was right his duty was clear. He 
should have admitted: 'I have made a mistake' and 



288 A Looker On in London 

marched back. It might be humiliating, but it would have 
shown that the story, as told in this court was the true one. 
But, instead, he fires upon the Boers' entrenchments be- 
fore any shots were fired from there." 

The jury were then reminded of the stores provided, of 
which Dr. Jameson was cognizant, of the perfect under- 
standing between him, Major White, Col. Willoughby, 
Major Coventry and Col. Grey, and the Attorney-General 
said finally : 

"My duty is to ask you to come to the conclusion that 
they are guilty. It is my duty to point out what the con- 
sequences will be. If you feel that there is something 
other than the causes, reasons and objects which I have 
indicated to you, which are at the bottom of the expedi- 
tion, and, if you reconcile them as being inconsistent with 
the Foreign Enlistment Act, then I join with my learned 
friend in saying it is your duty to acquit these men. The 
responsibility of making out the charges rests with the 
Crown. I caution you against adopting any excuses for 
the illegal action put forward for the defendants. I think 
it is not difficult to anticipate the terrible consequences 
that may be brought about and involved in an action of 
this kind. Here are men holding the highest positions in 
this country, taking part in and employing men of the 
Chartered Company in this expedition, and I believe no 
man can exaggerate the evils that may happen. If, how- 
ever, you can find any excuses consistent with the de- 
fendants not having broken the law, you must give them 
the benefit of it in the interests of peace and justice, but 
if you only draw the inferences I am bound to point out 
to you, you will not mistake for one single moment what 
is your duty." 

The court adjourned when the Attorney-General had 
concluded, with the understanding that the following day 
would see the conclusion of the final act of the Transvaal 



Before the Lord Chief Justice 289 

drama, so far as it came within the jurisdiction of that 
court. 

Fortunately, the heat had moderated and Tuesday, July 
28th, the closing day of the great trial, dawned cool and 
cloudless. The interest was intensified, if possible, but 
there was a general feeling of relief that the end was at 
hand. The court was to sit at half past ten, and an hour 
before this the doors of the court room were unlocked and 
the waiting crowds poured in more eager than ever to get 
their places. The Lord Chief Justice had hitherto faced 
the counsel ; on this occasion he turned his chair and sat 
confronting the jury, whom he addressed exclusively, as 
if there were no other persons present. The closest at- 
tention was given when he began to speak, and it was un- 
interrupted during the six hours which he occupied in 
his tremendous summing up. The rustling of a dress, the 
creaking shoes of the newspaper reporters coming and go- 
ing, or a stifled cough, seemed terribly exaggerated. 
Fortunately the Lord Chief Justice was neither petulant 
nor nervous, and these slight sounds did not disturb him. 

In his introduction he said that, from the nature of the 
case, the responsibility of the Judges was greater, even 
than that of the jury, many grave points of law being in- 
volved which it devolved upon them to interpret. It was 
a criminal case. 

"But," he excjaimed with strong emphasis, pausing to 
be sure that he commanded the entire attention of the 
twelve men before him, "if the law had been violated, the 
law shall also be vindicated. In most criminal cases," he 
continued, "the consequences of the criminal offense 
usually ends with the facts and with the direct conse- 
quences of the acts which constitute the crime. But in 
offenses of this kind, unhappily that is not so. The com- 
mission of such a crime may entail consequences, the end 
of which no one can foresee. As in all criminal cases, it is 



290 A Looker On in London 

for the prosecution to establish the charge by evidence 
which will bring home to the understanding of the jury 
the conviction of guilt. If, after considering the evidence 
and giving weight and effect to the direction of the Judge 
or Judges who try the point of law, doubt remains in the 
mind of the jury, it is not a matter of grace on the part of 
the jury, but it is the right of the persons charged that the 
jury should give effect to that doubt. But it must not be 
a doubt conjured up; it must be a doubt such as would 
effect you in any important concern in life. It must be a 
doubt which reasonably and naturally and honestly pre- 
sents itself to your minds." 

He then described the men indicated; Leander Starr 
Jameson, Chief Magistrate in Mashonaland, in Septem- 
ber, 1 89 1, Administrator of the British South Africa Com- 
pany, receiving his commission as resident commissioner 
for the territories of Ikanning and Montsioa in 1895 ; 
Major Willougbby of the Royal Horse Guard, seconded 
for the service in the British South Africa police in May, 
1890; Robert White, a Captain of the Royal Welsh 
Fusileers, seconded in 1894 for service in the volunteer 
force of British South Africa, and in September appointed 
a magistrate for the Salisbury district — "a servant of the 
Crown appointed with the approval of the Queen;" Ra- 
leigh Grey, the Hon. Frederick White, the Hon. Charles 
John Coventry, parties with the others "to the preparing 
in the Queen's dominions of a military expedition against 
a friendly state, within the meaning of the act of 1870." 

In the most solemn manner he reviewed the disaster 
that had ensued, the loss of twenty lives, the wounding of 
many men, the political complications that had arisen 
amounting almost to open hostility with one of the great 
powers and the end had not yet been reached. The char- 
acter of the expedition was fully analyzed : 

"It was an expedition of trained troops," said his Lord- 



Before the Lord Chief Justice 291 

ship, "fully equipped and disciplined, officered by military 
men all of whom had the honor of holding the Queen's 
commission. It had ammunition, was accompanied by 
Maxim guns, and other engines of destruction and 
marched as an army in military order. I think, there- 
fore," he continued, "so far, there is no possible room for 
doubt, as I have described the character of the expedition. 
The essential point, and the point to which the able argu- 
ments of able counsel have been addressed to you is : was 
it an expedition prepared in order to proceed against the 
dominions of a friendly state — that state being called the 
South African Republic? Again, you can have no doubt 
that the marching into the Transvaal was an act which 
violated the peace of that friendly state. Was it a peacea- 
ble march into thait friendly state ? Was it intended that, 
if the march was resisted it would 'meet the resistance by 
force? We know that it did so. Was it so intended? 
There were scouts with it, an advance guard, and flanking 
parties, and does not all this show that force was in con- 
templation and measures were taken to resist force by 
force ? So far, these are matters in which you must form 
your own judgment; but I have again, as always, with 
the concurrence of my learned friends, to give you specific 
directions on the point of law as to what is a military ex- 
pedition within the meaning of the Act. Take the fact of 
the case with this definition : I direct you, in point of law, 
that an expedition is not less an expedition against the 
dominion of a friendly state if it was not aimed at over- 
throwing the government, or if it was prompted by phi- 
lanthropic and humane motives. If the expedition was 
designed to enter the Transvaal with the intention, either 
by a show of force, or by action interfering with the 
Transvaal laws, or the administration of those laws, to 
substitute for any class in the country others by force or a 
show of force ; or, if it was intended to join with others 



292 A Looker On in London 

in or outside the South African Republic in overthrowing 
the government in order to get a change of the laws, it 
was an expedition against the dominions of a friendly 
state. If these things were done by the authority of the 
Queen, or by the authority of any other sovereign power," 
he exclaimed, raising his voice and striking the desk with 
his clenched hand, "it would be an act of war, and if done 
by unauthorized subjects of the Queen it would be an 
illegal and filibustering raid." 

Then, from a great heap of documents many pages in 
thickness, he read numberless extracts relating to the 
charter of the South Africa Company. Upon the delicate 
point of protectorates he said with much earnestness : 

"Protectorates vary, unfortunately. There are in- 
stances of very ancient protectorates which amount to no 
more than this : That a powerful state says : This state 
which adjoins me and in whose welfare I am interested 
is under my wing. * * * .' Such an arrangement 
leaves the protected state untouched with complete and 
absolute internal autonomy. Another, and a most com- 
mon feature of these protectorates, is a prohibition which 
prevents the so-called protected state from entering into 
treaties with other states without the authority of the 
protecting state. That is the case in the relations of Great 
Britain toward the South African Republic. The Re- 
public is not bound to enter into relations with any other 
state without the assent of the Queen, but its complete 
and independent autonomy is in no way interfered with 
or crippled. The story is too recent, perhaps, to justify 
us in referring to it as a notorious record; but we 
know enough of the history of dealings with territories 
to know that this territory differs essentially from those 
to which I have been referring." 

His opinion was, that the legal attitude of Great Britain 
toward the Transvaal had intensified the crime of the de- 



Before the Lord Chief Justice 293 

fendants, the South African Republic having been at- 
tacked by the subjects of that sovereign from which it had 
a right to expect not only friendship but protection. The 
evidence was then laboriously reviewed with orders in 
council, charts, letters and cipher telegrams. The fact of 
secrecy, the cutting of telegraph wires and the fore- 
thought that had been shown in the management of all 
the preliminary arrangements were pronounced suspicious. 
In criticizing the ostensible motive for the expedition 
the Lord Chief Justice said scathingly : 

"How absurd — how mean — but I am loath to use that 
word in this place — how absurd," reverting to the first 
term he had employed, "to make this suggestion of going 
to the relief of women and children." He said finally : 
"I have now to put to you certain definite questions." 
At this point Sir Edward Clarke arose and said: 
"My Lord, will you hear my objection now?" 
He was informed rather sharply by his Lordship that no 
objection had been taken, and he intended to direct the 
jury that they might answer the questions and return a 
general verdict. Sir Edward again endeavored to speak, 
but Lord Russell again reminded him that he could permit 
no discussion at that time. He then informed the jury 
that he had prepared the questions which he requested 
them to answer, at the same time informing them very 
clearly that they were at liberty to refuse and that if they 
declined to answer them, no power could force them to do 
so against their will. They were also told that a pre- 
cedent existed for such a course and it was cited. 
The questions were : 

(1) Were the defendants, or any and which of them, 
engaged in the preparation of a military expedition to pro- 
ceed, and with the intention that it should proceed, against 
a friendly state — the South African Republic? 

(2) Did the defendants, or any and which of them, 



294 A Looker On in London 

assist in the preparation of such an expedition, or aid, 
abet, counsel or procure such preparation? 

(3) Were the defendants, or any and which of them, 
employed in any capacity in such expedition ? 

The same questions concerning Pitsani Potlugo were 
also put, and the jurors were told, that if they decided all 
were engaged in such an expedition that the answer 
should be "all," if none, the answer should be "none," 
and, if not all, those who were participants should be 
named. 

The jury were informed, further, that if they agreed to 
answer the questions which were read to them, they were 
to write after each question, either "yes" or "no," accord- 
ing to their decision. 

The foreman, a pale, slender man with dark hair and 
mustache, rose in his place and asked: 

"Suppose we do answer them in this way, My Lord, 
is the alternative a verdict of guilty or not guilty ?" 

He was informed that in the case of refusal to answer, 
a direct verdict of guilty or not guilty must be rendered 
as an alternative. An officer of the court then took them 
to a plac^ where they should be "locked up without fire, 
light, food or drink until they agreed upon a verdict," and 
they were at once conducted from the court room. 

It was twenty-five minutes past four; the defendants 
also went out, Dr. Jameson with them; he had sat much 
of the time throughout the day with his face buried in his 
hands, apparently exhausted, his former depression hav- 
ing returned, as the hours wore on. 

A loud buzz of conversation immediately broke forth 
which continued with animation for an hour; no one but 
the Lord Chief Justice, the two Associate Justices, the 
counsel, the defendants and a few of their personal friends 
left the court room. The suppressed excitement was in- 
tense and asserted itself in the nervous manner, the alert- 



Before the Lord Chief Justice 295 

ness, the start at every movement about the door, on the 
part of those who remained waiting. At last there was a 
faint tinkle of a bell, far off, and every voice was instantly 
hushed. In a few moments the Lord Chief Justice, Justice 
Hawkins and Justice Pollock returned, then the defend- 
ants, and last the jurors. Several of the jurors were smil- 
ing, but their expression was a little anxious, though they 
appeared relieved that their difficult duty was finished and 
seemed satisfied with whatever verdict they were prepared 
to render. 

The defendants looked at them steadily, but with some 
apprehension, Coventry for the first time being pale and 
anxious. He had at this stage of the trial ceased to find 
the proceedings amusing and Dr. Jameson, himself, was 
scarcely more downcast and dejected. 

When all were seated, in the midst of death-like silence, 
the Master of the Rolls asked the foreman: 

"Are you agreed upon a verdict?" 

The foreman, standing, replied distinctly: "We are," 
an affirmative which it was shown, presently, was hardly 
justified. A slip of paper was then handed the Lord Chief 
Justice with the answers to the three questions which he 
had put to them. These answers, which he read silently, 
proved to be in the affirmative, the vital admission being 
made that "the Queen's sovereignty did extend over Pit- 
sani and Mafeking." The Lord Chief Justice announced 
firmly that this "constituted a verdict of guilty." The 
foreman then rose and said with some reluctance : 

"My Lord, we have answered your questions categori- 
cally, 'but we wish to add a rider — the jury consider that 
the state of affairs in Johannesburg presented great provo- 
cation." 

"That is a verdict of guilty," repeated the Lord Chief 
Justice sternly, with increased emphasis, disregarding the 
rider. 



296 A Looker On in London 

The foreman, as if he rather liked the word, insisted 
that "His Lordship's questions had been answered cate- 
gorically." 

While this discussion was going on Sir Edward Clarke 
rose rather inopportunely and began: 

"My Lord, I wish to say — " 

Already nettled by the indecision of the jury, the Lord 
Chief Justice replied with severity : 

"I cannot at this moment allow any interposition." 

"Surely, My Lord — " Sir Edward persisted; but he 
was again peremptorily silenced by the Lord Chief Justice, 
who said : 

"At this moment I am addressing the jury, and I can- 
not allow it." Then he turned to the jurors and said au- 
thoritatively : 

"Gentlemen, with these findings I direct you to find a 
verdict of guilty against all these defendants." 

During this interval the increased nervousness and ap- 
prehension of the defendants was very manifest. In this 
interval, too, was displayed that trait of the English char- 
acter which is so marked and, in the face of existing social 
customs and distinctions, so difficult to comprehend. 
While showing the utmost respect to the high official 
whom he was addressing, the foreman, an ordinary Brit- 
ish householder of ordinary position and intelligence, 
though perfectly aware of the dissatisfaction of the Lord 
Chief Justice, replied with great firmness : 

"There is one objection to that, My Lord. We have 
answered your words categorically" — using the term for 
the third time — "but we do not agree absolutely upon a 
verdict of guilty or not guilty." 

The eyes of the Lord Chief Justice kindled, and his 
voice which had never once faltered from the beginning 
to the close of his six hours' speech, trembled with indig- 
nation. He said in tones that brooked no denial : 



Before the Lord Chief Justice 297 

"This is a most unhappy state of things, gentlemen. If 
there are any of you who differ from the rest, you ought to 
consider the point. These questions, answered as they 
are, amount to a verdict of guilty, and nothing else. The 
answers are capable of no other construction. Therefore, 
I direct you — and I direct my observations particularly to 
those who may disagree with the rest — that you ought to 
return in accordance with these findings a verdict against 
the defendants." 

The jury thus unmistakably instructed whispered to- 
gether a few seconds and the foreman rose and said obedi- 
ently : 

"We are unanimous in returning a verdict of guilty." 

It was a critical moment, and for a brief instant, it 
seemed as though justice would miscarry, and the whole 
laborious and painful business must be gone over again ; 
but the unyielding will of the Lord Chief Justice pre- 
vailed. 

His procedure in no way resembled coercion; it was 
simply a demand for a verdict based upon facts, all of 
which had been carefully and plainly laid before the jury; 
the doubtful aspects had been clearly explained and sim- 
plified, both by the Attorney- General and by the Lord 
Chief Justice, himself, in his summing up. 

The verdict having been thus rendered with reluctance 
and delay, Sir Edward Clarke was permitted to give no- 
tice that he would make a motion for the arrest of judg- 
ment until he could enter a motion for a new trial. This 
was granted and Monday was fixed as the day of hearing. 

The Lord Chief Justice, with the Associate Justices, 
then retired a second time, sending in a messenger pres- 
ently for a slip of paper that had been forgotten and left 
upon his desk. When they returned, the court rising with 
the usual formality until the Justices were seated, Sir Ed- 
ward Clarke again asked to be heard, and said that in 



298 A Looker On in London 

the interval the defendants had decided that the arrest 
of judgment must not be proceeded with, and that they 
were prepared to accept the sentence of the court without 
demur. 

This decision rendered at that moment had the same 
theatrical effect which Dr. Jameson's avowal of personal 
responsibility for the raid had produced ; an effect which, 
either studied or involuntary, had seemed conspicuous in 
the attitude of the chief defendant throughout the pro- 
ceedings. There was an impulse of subdued applause 
which in that solemn place seemed a shocking breach of 
decorum and was instantly silenced. 

The defendants were then ordered to stand, and, for the 
first time, were addressed as "prisoners." While the Lord 
Chief Justice's remarks were severe, they were not ill-tem- 
pered. He spoke with great gravity reminding^ them of 
their high social position and the official responsibility 
which they had betrayed. 

Dr. Jameson was then sentenced to fifteen months im- 
prisonment without hard labor; Sir John Willoughby to 
ten months; Major White, Col. White, Col. Grey and 
Major Coventry five months each without hard labor. 

The men were very pale, quiet and self-possessed, 
though very serious. The term "prisoners," addressed to 
them by the Lord Chief Justice for the first time, seemed 
to have wakened them to a consciousness of their posi- 
tion, men no longer attempting to justify their acts, but, 
after a fair and honest trial, condemned and held respon- 
sible for their defiance of the law. 

It is, of course, the merest conjecture, but it seemed al- 
most certain that the decision of the men to accept the 
sentence of the court had mitigated its severity. As soon 
as Sir Edward Clarke announced the fact that the mo- 
tion for an appeal was withdrawn and had sat down, the 
Lord Chief Justice conferred briefly and inaudibly with 



Before the Lord Chief Justice 299 

the Associate Justices and then passed his pen through 
certain words written upon the slip of paper lying under 
his hand, after which the sentence was immediately pro- 
nounced. 

It was followed by a stillness that continued for sev- 
eral seconds after the Lord Chief Justice ceased to speak ; 
then the people breathed again, and the great trial was 
over. 

The men were conducted to the prison without delay. 
In the eyes of the rabble, and of multitudes who were not 
rabble, they were heroes to be applauded to the last. As 
they drove away they were followed by cries of "God 
bless you" — "God bless you Dr. Jim/' and they were re- 
garded, not as criminals, but as heroes suffering martyr- 
dom for their patriotism. 

The Lord Chief Justice was warmly commended by the 
English press and by the more intelligent and disinter- 
ested people of all classes. The sentence and punishment, 
however, seemed strangely inadequate when the magni- 
tude of their offense and its terrible consequences were 
borne in mind ; a friendly territory had been invaded by 
an armed force ; a people with whom closer relations were 
the only means of bringing about reforms which Dr. 
Jameson desired, had been alienated, and hostility aroused 
which would survive for generations; twenty lives had 
been lost, the government had been notified that heavy 
indemnity would be demanded; a native uprising had 
resulted, in which many lives and much property were de- 
stroyed, owing to the distraction of the public mind 
and the withdrawal of troops from territory where 
their presence was required. For all this, a sentence 
of fifteen months without hard labor to the leader, 
and seven months to his confederates would have been 
merely a nominal sentence, even had it been carried into 
effect. But Captain Coventry, who was deprived of his 



3°° 



A Looker On in London 



commission — a penalty in which the others shared — was 
pardoned almost immediately by the Home Office. The 
others, having been sentenced simply to imprisonment 
without hard labor, were not required to clean their cells, 
or wear prison garb ; they were permitted to receive their 
friends by whom they were supplied with many comforts 
and luxuries, and Dr. Jameson spent much of the time 
writing and reading. He was unquestionably in ill health, 
but he had so strenuously expressed his desire to bear the 
entire burden of responsibility, including whatever penalty 
that the court might see fit to inflict, that it was a little 
disappointing, even to his admirers, that he, too, availed 
himself of the clemency of the Home Office. He was sen- 
tenced July 28th, released from Holloway Jail Dec. 2d, 
having been in prison less than five months, and returned 
to South Africa. There were apparent grounds for the be- 
lief that, for once, influence in high places had interfered 
with the administration of the law, or that the law itself 
had been strangely ineffectual. 



CHAPTER XXIV 

THE DIAMOND JUBILEE 

The Diamond Jubilee was the one absorbing topic dur- 
ing the spring of 1897. For months tradesmen, hotel and 
lodging-house keepers had been anticipating the event, 
and it was generally believed that the resources of Lon- 
don would be taxed to their utmost. Buildings were 
rented along the proposed route of the procession as soon 
as it was made public, and these were covered with 
wooden scaffoldings, even the roofs being furnished with 
seats, although very little could be seen from such an ele- 
vation, as might have been supposed. By the first of June, 
London was transformed; Westminster Abbey, and the 
House of Parliament were about the only landmarks re- 
maining ; even churches were concealed behind the wooden 
galleries that had been erected across their front windows 
and entrances. Complaints of extortion became more and 
more general ; it was true that firms who had rented the 
buildings or constructed stands in the first instance, had 
been forced to pay fabulous prices for rentals and labor; 
workmen demanded and received greatly increased wages 
and, in order to reimburse themselves, those who let the 
seats were obliged, in turn, to ask large sums. Ten and 
twenty guineas were demanded for very moderate accom- 
modations, with an extra sum for luncheon — which was 
usually provided. As the time approached it became ap- 
parent that the public had refused to submit to the im- 
position. Prices began to decline, and continued to fall 
until the evening of the 21st, when plenty of excellent 

3oi 



302 A Looker On in London 

places were to be had for one guinea ; and so thoroughly- 
had the arrangements been carried out, it was found that 
those who took chances upon the sidewalks would be able 
to see the pageant perfectly, without discomfort and free 
of charge. 

The week preceding the eventful day was most interest- 
ing; the streets were crowded with a motley throng of 
strangers; dark-skinned visitors from India and South 
Africa, from the West Indies and Australia ; with detach- 
ments of troops from the remotest colonies of the empire ; 
burfy negroes from the west coast of Africa; Maories, 
Chinese, Siamese, and stalwart Canadians were to be ob- 
served amongst the motley and ever-moving multitudes. I 
saw one day a great wagon drawn by oxen, such as is 
used by the trekking Africander, creeping slowly across 
Sloane Square; a Chinese mandarin, with his suite, in 
robes of stiffest green and red brocade drove along Picca- 
dilly; the Premiers of the Colonies arrived and were as- 
signed to apartments reserved for them in the Hotel Cecil ; 
foreign envoys presented their credentials and were quar- 
tered in other hotels and palaces, the guests of the Queen, 
as the uniformed sentinels stationed at the entrance im- 
plied. 

The Langham, the Victoria and the Metropole, with the 
less fashionable hotels, were crowded, and the more desira- 
ble lodgings had been engaged months in advance. It was 
difficult to make one's way along the sidewalk or to cross 
the streets that were blocked with traffic. It was under- 
stood that cab-drivers would expect greatly increased 
fares, not by demanding them, which would have been a 
violation of the law, but by refusing all patrons who did 
not pay Jubilee prices ; and at last, even one omnibus line 
trebled its rates. Every effort was made to check and con- 
trol this extortion but without much success. The people 
themselves, however, took matters in their own hands and 



The Diamond Jubilee 303 

refused to be victimized. Windows remained unlet until 
those who had leased them were compelled to take what- 
ever they could get ; the omnibus line that raised its rates 
was without passengers, and men and women walked 
rather than countenance the rapacious cab-drivers. The 
prospect of extortionate charges every where kept thou- 
sands away from London who, otherwise, would have 
come to the Jubilee. 

By Monday the 23d the preparations were practically 
completed. The final rehearsal had been held on Satur- 
day, which consisted in driving the state carriages from 
Buckingham Palace to St. Paul's and ranging them in 
the order they were to occupy during the short Thanks- 
giving service. The rehearsal did not promise well for 
the control of the general multitude. The crowd that as- 
sembled, in spite of the precautions that had been taken to 
secure perfect secrecy, was lawless and ungovernable. It 
was said that in the struggle to see the royal carriages, 
well-dressed and apparently respectable people were dis- 
covered with pieces of costly lace and other valuables in 
their hands, and that an officer lost the gold hilt of his 
sword. This circumstance, however, only increased the 
watchfulness of the police, and had in the end, perhaps, a 
good effect, and the fears that were expressed, fortu- 
nately, were not realized. On Sunday preceding the 
Jubilee, while the Queen and her family were attending 
the special service at St. George's chapel Windsor, thou- 
sands gathered about St. Paul's, St. Margaret's and West- 
minster Abbey. The Queen's thanksgiving was simple 
and without ostentation, the more ceremonious services 
being held in London at which the various branches of 
the government, and the representatives of other govern- 
ments were present. The peers in their scarlet and ermine 
repaired to Westminster Abbey ; the diplomatic corps and 
the commoners attended St. Margaret's ; this is the parish 



3°4 



A Looker On in London 



church of the House of Commons and here pews are also 
reserved for the diplomatic corps, that of the American 
Ambassador being designated by a tiny flag glazed and in 
a narrow frame of brass. The service for the law courts, 
and the bar was held in the old Temple church, while at 
St. Paul's the stalls in the choir had been reserved for the 
Prince and Princess of Wales and the Envoys. Admis- 
sion to all these services was by ticket, and of the thou- 
sands who wished to be present, but a very small fraction 
could do so. Among those excluded were many who had 
come nearly around the globe to be present at the Jubilee, 
and these accepted their exclusion with very ill grace. 

Monday the 21st, householders were superintending the 
final decorations; arches were thrown across the streets, 
doors, windows and balconies, hitherto unnoticed, were 
brilliant with flags and wreaths, and the temporary scaf- 
foldings and extemporized seats, that completely concealed 
familiar buildings, were covered with crimson cloth, and 
the gray old metropolis was adorned with a splendor that 
recalled the pageants of the Plantagenets and Tudors. As 
in the decorations upon the marriage of the Princess 
Maud, the American flag was everywhere in evidence, dis- 
played with a friendliness and a lavishness that evinced 
the utmost cordiality and good-will. 

The Queen arrived at Paddington from Windsor, a few 
minutes after twelve o'clock on Monday. Vast crowds 
filled the streets, the entire distance between the station 
and Buckingham Palace, and the route was splendidly 
decorated with flowers, garlands of bay, arches and 
Venetian masts from which fluttered countless blue and 
scarlet pennants ; and adjacent balconies were draped with 
scarlet cloth fringed with gold, and were crowded with 
blossoming plants. At one place there were portraits of 
the Queen and the Prince of Wales showing in fine relief 
against a solid background of white carnations ; the office 



The Diamond Jubilee 305 

of one of the newspapers displayed loyal mottoes in costly 
mauve orchids ; whole buildings were hung with festoons 
of sweet-smelling bay ; the Junior Army and Navy stores 
were almost hidden with thick ropes of evergreens; the 
Colonial offices were also a mass of greenery and vivid 
color, while one building was covered with parterres of 
cornflowers, vivid red geraniums and white alyssum ; even 
Downing street relaxed its severity and contributed flags 
and coats of arms to the universal adorning; the royal 
standard, only, floated from the spire of the Parliament 
building. It must be confessed, however, that the general 
effect was somewhat disappointing, lacking in grace, 
delicacy and, above all, in originality. The designs for the 
illuminations were chiefly a repetition of the imperial 
monograms, "V. R. 1./' "Long Live the Queen," "God 
Bless the Queen," with "Ich Dein" and the three plumes 
of the Prince of Wales crest. 

Such mottoes as : "Queenliest of Queens," "Noblest of 
Women," 'The Sovereign whose Empire is the Heart of 
Her People," were greatly in favor, with verses not always 
of a very high order like this ambiguous couplet : 

"Reigning still at ninety-five, 
May our sovereign live and thrive." 

The Athenaeum Club might have produced something 
worthy the occasion, but its expansive front was so hidden 
with temporary seats that no background for an appro- 
priate and classically correct sentiment remained. 

By far the most artistic of all the decorations were those 
of the Bank of England. Of these, this description ap- 
peared in The Times, Wednesday, June 23rd : 

"The illuminations proper at the Bank of England were, 
with the exception of a few novelties, very similar to those 
adopted at the Jubilee of 1887 and at the wedding of the 
Duke and Duchess of York, and formed altogether a 



306 A Looker On in London 

gorgeous display. Across the entire building from Princes 
street to Bartholomew Lane lines of crystal and amber il- 
lumination lamps were traced, falling along the lowest 
row into festoons looped up with bows. Over the en- 
trance opposite the Royal Exchange was a crystal medal- 
lion with the monogram 'V. R. I.' two small medallions 
bearing the dates '1837' and '1897' being on either side. 
Two cut crystal stars were also to the right and left. On 
the facade over the center portico was the appropriate line, 
selected by the Governor of the Bank from Tennyson's 
'Ode to the Queen,' 'She wrought her people lasting 
good,' the letters being formed in amber cut crystal on a 
ground work of iridescent green embellished with gold. 
Surmounting the legend, which was a very prominent 
feature in the display, was a cut crystal crown. Above 
this the blank window panels were outlined in crystal 
lamps, festoons of which looped up with ruby bows, being 
drawn above them. The illuminations in the central part 
of the building were surmounted by a painting executed 
for Messrs. Defries — who carried out the work at the 
Bank — by Prof. Legros. This represented an allegorical 
figure of Britannia in a chariot drawn by two horses, 
flanked on either side by children holding shields bearing 
the dates '1837' and '1897.' Along the parapet were four 
'glory stars' with crystal and amber points and at each 
corner was a large cut crystal ornament in the form known 
as 'the Grecian honeysuckle,' the lines being marked out 
in deep ruby and the scroll finished with amber." 

Royal portraits — a few in that impossible and now his- 
torical bonnet — others in the widow's cap, these most 
sweet and womanly; or with the veil and coronet, and 
that of the charming young girl, her silken hair in broad 
braids looped below the ears, as she appeared at the. time 
of the coronation, were conspicuous in most of the shops, 
surrounded by slices of ham, baskets of fruit, haber- 



The Diamond Jubilee 307 

dashery or fashionable bonnets, according to the special 
line of the loyal tradesman. The crowds in the street on 
Monday passed description, all good-natured, all delighted 
and patriotic. At ten o'clock in the morning I took a cab 
in St John's Wood and rode through Regent's Park, 
Baker and Oxford streets, Trafalgar square across West- 
minster Bridge into Walworth. The drive occupied con- 
siderably over three hours. As throughout the Vv est End, 
in this humble region the streets were alive and swarming 
with people, all in gala dress and the most buoyant spirits ; 
every house had profuse decorations of paper flowers— the 
entire length of Westminster bridge was wreathed with 
them and hung with fairy lamps. Where the viaduct 
crosses Borough road the whole under surface of the 
great metal arch was lined with white and scarlet cloth. 
There was not a window in the poorest quarter that did 
not display some token of love and loyalty for the Queen ; 
a motto, a flower, a flag, or a transparency. 

Along the curbstone, fakirs had placed their stands and 
were selling fruit and eatables— penny ices, currant buns 
and "penny-winkles" which, like death, seem to have all 
seasons for their own ; carriages with sightseers from the 
West End threaded their way through an interminable 
stream of omnibuses and trams ; huge lumbering vans 
disputed the right of way with carrier's carts, victorias 
and costermongers, barrows, the horses prancing proudly 
as if conscious of the flags and rosettes at their ears. In 
these humble vehicles were parties of working people, 
whole families singing, accompanied by mandolins or still 
oftener by wheezy concertinas. Thousands never went to 
bed that night, but slept and ate in the places which they 
had secured along the pavements. 

It is generally necessary for newspaper correspondents 
to secure at such times what is called "a press pass." This 
must be displayed plainly and entitled the wearer to come 



308 A Looker On in London 

and go, beyond the police lines, and into places from which 
the general public are excluded. At first I concluded that 
I would not require such a pass, but upon second thought 
decided that it might prove useful. The request was made, 
therefore, and late on Monday afternoon a telegram was 
received from the Scotland Yard informing me that it 
would be issued if I called before seven o'clock that even- 
ing with a letter from the American Ambassador. It would 
have been impossible to see the Ambassador, overwhelmed 
with business as he necessarily was, at that late hour. I 
had, however, a letter from him which, not being of an 
especially personal nature, I thought might be made to an- 
swer the required purpos.e It was a long journey across 
London on what was a very doubtful errand, but it was 
happily rewarded. Oxford street, Regent street and Tra- 
falgar square were almost solidly blockaded, but, passing 
through the entrance of the enclosure surrounding the 
great police department of London, it was like find- 
ing a tranquil, land-locked harbor, after traversing a 
tempestuous sea; there all was still, and the building ap- 
parently as deserted as if it were in the remotest of the 
provinces. I was directed by one policeman after an- 
other, stationed at intervals from the main entrance to the 
office, until I stood in the presence of one of the assistants 
of the chief. He was very polite, but not sanguine. I 
stated my case and explained that I had not realized the 
necessity of having the pass until the last moment, when it 
was too late to apply to the Ambassador for the creden- 
tials, which I felt assured he would have given me ; I fur- 
ther explained that he was so much occupied with im- 
portant official duties that I did not feel at liberty to in- 
trude upon him that day, but had brought a private letter 
Which would establish my identity, and which I felt was 
all that was required. The subordinate s.miled but shook 



The Diamond Jubilee 309 

his head and said "that he did not think they would give 
me a pass upon that sort of representation." 

"Take it to the clerk, and let us see," I replied. 

He disappeared, returned in a moment and asked if they 
might retain the letter. There was something in his man- 
ner that seemed to say : 

"There ! What you have to say to that?" I assented 
to this without hesitation and within a very short time 
the clerk himself entered the room where I had been wait- 
ing, and, with the utmost civility, and kindness gave me 
the pass with an envelope containingacard to be shown to 
the police if required, establishing my rightful claim to 
the pass. This was a very tasteful and unobtrusive badge, 
which would be sufficient to stay the up-raised, inexorable 
hand of that incorruptible potentate — a London police- 
man; it was about one inch in length and width, an 
octagon of white enamel surmounted by an imperial 
coronet; underneath the coronet was inscribed "Pass 22, 
June, 1897. E. R. C. B." — the coronet and lettering in 
gilt. With this badge was a card in an envelope bearing 
the seal of the metropolitan police. On one side was 
printed: "Celebration of Her Majesty's Jubilee." "The 
press pass within," it was stated, "is issued on the express 
condition that it is to be returned on the twenty-third of 
June to the Chief Clerk, Metropolitan police office, Scot- 
land Yard." 

It may be explained that this requirement was obeyed, 
but the badge was afterwards very courteously returned to 
me, to be preserved as a valued memento of the Jubilee. 
A similar badge was worn by the representatives of the 
London press and by the correspondents of the provincial 
and foreign press. But the number issued could not have 
been very great, as mine was among the last, and the 
number was "569." It was amusing to watch the ex- 
treme reluctance with which both the police and the troops 



310 A Looker On in London 

along the route permitted the wearers of this badge to go 
within the lines. When the first relay of reporters arrived, 
there was much parleying, the card had to be produced 
and even then the official manner was not cordial when 
the men were at length unwillingly permitted to go their 
way. The representatives of the press, on the other hand, 
took profound satisfaction in the indulgence extended 
them, and they strolled up and down the Strand with the 
badges conspicuously displayed, as if to make the most of 
their opportunity. 

As I rode back in triumph, after obtaining the coveted 
pass, I asked the driver of the omnibus "If he did not think 
that the company had lost money in advancing the fare 
for the Jubilee/' 

He was a sober Jehu in a brand new Jubilee suit and a 
glossy new Jubilee hat; he waved his whip listlessly, 
pensively admiring the Jubilee rosette and streamers upon 
the lash. 

"Well, you see, laidy," he said with judicial reserve, 
"it's saved the cattle a good deal, you know." 

And it certainly had; there was but one other person 
in the tabooed vehicle beside myself! 

For weeks there had been all sorts of prophecies of dire 
disaster — the falling of the temporary seats and stands, 
conflicts between the populace, military and police; and 
even dynamite plots were anticipated by the more nervous 
and apprehensive. It had been talked of everywhere, and 
the prayers for the Queen's preservation from threatened 
evil had been continuous and fervent. This apprehension 
may have ha'd something to do with the enormous police 
force that was on duty ; they stood, a soldier or a police- 
man, or a soldier and a policeman, alternating, almost 
touching elbows, along the entire route. After the thor- 
oughfares were closed to traffic at half past eight o'clock, 
on the eventful morning, mounted police with detachments 



The Diamond Jubilee 311 

of military officers rode up and down keeping the closest 
watch upon the people beyond the lines. It was, however, 
a mere formality; it is doubtful if any one in all that 
multitude was disposed to violence, or had any other than 
the kindest and most reverent thoughts for the woman and 
the sovereign who, that day, celebrated the sixtieth anni- 
versary of a glorious and beneficent reign. No counte- 
nances were dull or scowling; rich and poor, high and 
low, alike, seemed happy and full of enthusiasm. As on 
all great public occasions, when the streets of London are 
densely thronged, detachments of the St. John's ambu- 
lance corps were stationed on the corner at the side streets 
opening into the thoroughfares along which the proces- 
sion was to pass; men and uniformed nurses were in 
readiness with stretchers, bandages and all the appliances 
for immediate aid to the injured, or in case of sudden ill- 
ness, or accident. These corps passed through the streets 
between the police lines to their posts three hours before 
the arrival of the procession, and, with Her Majesty's 
mails, had the right of way everywhere. As the first de- 
tachment of the troops marched by, a man in the crowd 
fell in a fit. The staff from the ambulance corps just at 
hand came to his side instantly and he was at once re- 
moved. The stands which had been constructed, from 
which the procession was to be viewed, had been thor- 
oughly inspected by the chief of the Fire Brigade, and not 
one was neglected; when it was officially approved a 
printed notice was posted up where all could see it, giving 
the number of people to be accommodated within a given 
space, and prohibiting smoking. With the law-abiding in- 
stinct of the English people, these orders were obeyed, 
and no attempt was made anywhere to overcrowd or evade 
the regulations. The result was an astonishingly small 
number of accidents and almost no loss of life; not a 
single seat gave way, and the order that was preserved 



312 



A Looker On in London 



was a splendid tribute to the efficiency of the Fire Brigade, 
the police and the people themselves. 

My seat had been engaged with the Sandringham club, 
in the Strand, opposite the head of Norfolk street. A 
chartered omnibus called for me at six o'clock, and the 
rest of the party were picked up en route. In London 
when the omnibus plies a fixed route and does not depart 
therefrom, it seemed very odd to have the big, ugly vehicle 
rumble up to the door at six o'clock in the morning, just 
as one's carriage might have done, conductor and driver, 
impatient to be off. Hot coffee was sent out as a pro- 
pititory offering until I could swallow a mouthful of break- 
fast, then I clambered up the winding steps and took the 
front seat, the only passenger at the start. Certain of the 
party who were to wait at St. Mark's church were not 
there at the appointed hour; other rendezvous could not 
be found; Blandford place was unknown, and so was 
Cork street, Grosvenor square. We wheeled and turned 
and put about and doubled on our track, to the intense dis- 
gust of the driver, who was anxious, and not without rea- 
son, lest the streets should be closed to traffic before he 
could reach his destination. The devious routes had given 
us the best possible opportunity to see what had been 
done — and it was all a dazzling confusion of flowers, flags, 
pennons, garlands of bay, portraits, mottoes and patriotic 
sentiments ; the Prince of Wales' crest, and the Imperial 
monogram, and all these contrived of flowers, lengths of 
silk and crimson cloth, crystal, gilt and silver. Contrary 
to all expectation we had very little difficulty in finding 
our quarters, and the admirable accommodations which 
had been furnished us were beyond anything that we could 
have hoped for. The Strand was so narrow at this point, 
that not more than six horses could walk abreast, and, as 
an observer said, "We might have tossed a rose into the 
Queen's lap." 



The Diamond Jubilee 313 

It had been a little book shop and the entire front was a 
curved bow-window, that commanded a fine view for a 
long distance both up and down the Strand. All sorts of 
eatables and drinkables had been provided as a matter of 
course, tea, coffee, claret and champagne, cold meats, 
salads, cake and sandwiches. After finding the chairs 
which corresponded to the number of our tickets, there 
was a general demand for refreshments ; those who had 
breakfasted at all had had but a hurried and scanty meal. 

"I was wakened at two o'clock by the milkman," said 
the woman beside me, "who shouted, 'Jubilee milk and 
very little left,' so that I'm tired and hungry, both," and 
she devoted herself to the contents of her lunch basket 
with an energy that proved the truth of her assertion. It 
was but half past eight o'clock, and the first of the pro- 
cession did not arrive for two hours. There was quite 
enough, however, to occupy the attention and the interval 
of waiting was anything but tedious. 

First a detachment of hussars appeared in their fine 
uniforms and shining helmets, and these were stationed at 
the head of Norfolk street, opposite us, to keep back the 
crowd which was hurrying into the Strand. Over their 
heads we could see regiments marching along the Em- 
bankment to their appointed station, the bright waters of 
the Thames, the towers and church spires in the distance, 
on the Surrey side of the river. 

It had been dull and threatening early in the morning, 
but the proverbial Queen's weather was vouchsafed, after 
all. As the morning advanced the yellow haze dissolved, 
the sun came out and the Queen made her thanksgiving 
before St. Paul's under a sky without a cloud. 

As the moments slipped by there was plenty of 
diversion; splendid carriages, democratic hansoms 
and "four wheelers" rolled past with officers glit- 
tering" with gold lace and decorations, many with 



314 A Looker On in London 

their heavy plumed helmets carefully placed be- 
side them on the seat; three carriages with at- 
taches from the Chinese Embassy, afforded a picturesque 
variety; the Archbishop of York, the Archbishop of 
Canterbury ; an Alderman in scarlet and ermine and gold 
chain; all these and many more beside, gave the people 
something to look at and talk about. During this time 
also, eating and drinking were going on in every direc- 
tion, at the most amazing rate, as if the population of 
London, moved by a common impulse, for some unex- 
plained reason had turned out en masse to breakfast al 
fresco; up and down the streets, in doorways and win- 
dows and on the uppermost roofs were parties eating and 
drinking and passing up their cups and plates to have 
them refilled. It was not only a remarkably decorous 
crowd, but it was in that complacent good humor when 
everything amuses. 

There was a cry of "Here they come," and everybody 
J)ent forward eagerly. 

"They" proved to be a soldier running along at a smart 
trot carrying a bottle of champagne under his arm, evi- 
dently obeying orders, and there was a shout of laughter. 

The bells of St. Clement Danes and St. Martin's in the 
Field at length pealed out, the air throbbing and vibrating 
with the jubilant chimes; there was a distant sound of 
drums and two carriages appeared containing city officials 
in their robes of office ; behind them rode the young officer 
who has the distinction of being the tallest man in the 
British army, and who was in command of the Second 
Life Guards. Then followed a bewildering array of uni- 
forms ; lancers, hussars, cuirassiers in helmets and busbys 
brightened with aigrettes or scarlet plumes. The Scotch 
Greys, one of the most gallant regiments in the British 
service, with the famous pipers, were greeted with loud 
applause and a flutter of handkerchiefs. The colonial 



The Diamond Jubilee 315 

•Premiers in royal carriages, each in levee dress, black and 
gold, with gold laced chapeau were a distinguished look- 
ing body of men, and the colonial troops in khaki, with felt 
hats turned up at one side were men of resolute bearing 
and powerful physique; one Australian detachment wore 
in the hat-band a tuft of emu's feathers. This body of sol- 
diery sat well in their saddles and were fine riders. The 
"Rhodesian Mounted Rifles," elicited lusty cheers, their 
recent deeds of gallantry being yet fresh in the public 
mind. 

"Look!" exclaimed a gentleman in front of me, "That 
is poor Gifford, with the empty sleeve pinned to the breast 
of his coat." 

While the regular troops were sufficiently admired, 
greater interest seemed to center in the colonial military 
and mounted police, doubtless because they were less 
familiar to the spectators. The Canadians, like the South 
African soldiery, were much complimented, and the ne- 
gro police from the Queen's possessions in East Africa, 
giant, jet black negroes ; the handsome, graceful Maories 
from New Zealand ; the detachments of native Indian sol- 
diery, swarthy muscular Sikhs; the tiny Burmese and 
Siamese volunteers all called for a liberal share of praise. 
The Indians in their many-colored turbans, and their 
fine, delicate draperies were literally the flower of all that 
splendid host, and these too were greeted with ringing 
cheers. 

The foreign envoys, Japanese, Mexicans, Chinese, Span- 
ish, French, German and Italian were magnificent in uni- 
forms heavy with gold and glittering with jeweled decora- 
tions. Among them was the representative of the little 
Republic of Hawaii, as gorgeous in his gold lace and cha- 
peau and as imposing as the representative of all the Rus- 
sias — a splendor that vanished with the annexation of 
the islands of the United States, to return no more. 



31 6 A Looker On in London 

In the midst of all this bravery of uniform the sim- 
plicity of the American envoy, Hon. Whitelaw Reid, had 
a marked impressiveness. He, too, represented a rich 
and powerful nation, but he alone of all those dispatched 
to England to do honor to the head of the British Empire, 
wore neither medal nor decoration. In the plain morn- 
ing dress of a gentleman he was all the more remarkable, 
among the three envoys who shared his carriage — the rep- 
resentative of the Holy See in his clerical robes of scar- 
let silk, the Chinese and, strangely enough, the Spanish 
envoy — an oddly assorted quartette, all the more striking 
from the events that were even then impending to disturb 
the friendly relations of Spain and the United States. Mr. 
T } Reid was received with the utmost cordiality, sharing the 
applause that was given with special enthusiasm for the 
Queen and Lord Roberts. 

The Czar, the Emperor of Austria, Spain, Italy and the 
Holy See, had been represented by the flower of their 
court and of their army. The cavalcade of Princes in- 
cluded members of almost every reigning family in Eu- 
rope, the Duke of Fife and the Marquis of Lome heading 
the royal cortege. Among them were Prince Albert of 
Schleswig Holstein, Prince Mohammed Ali Pasha of 
Egypt, Prince Hermann of Saxe Weimar, Prince Louis 
of Battenberg, His Imperial Highness, the Grand 
Duke Cyril of Russia, Prince Frederick Charles of Den- 
mark, His Royal Highness, the Hereditary Prince of 
Saxe-Coburg Gotha (the Duke of Edinburgh), His Royal 
Highness, the Duke of Oporto, His Royal Highness, 
Prince Rupert of Bavaria, His Royal Highness, the Duke 
of York, the Crown Prince of Siam, His Royal Highness, 
the Prince Waldemar of Denmark, the Grand Duke Serge 
of Russia, the Prince of Naples, the Arch Duke Prince 
Ferdinand of Austro-Hungary. There were few amongst 
this brilliant company who were not strikingly handsome, 



The Diamond Jubilee 317 

with regular features and a distinction that gave evidence 
of generations of high ancestry and of centuries of careful 
rearing and cultivation and luxurious living. The Royal 
children, the Princess Ena of Battenberg, Princess Alice 
of Battenburg and the Princess Alice of Albany, 
called forth affectionate exclamations, especially from 
the women. They were dressed with extreme sim- 
plicity in little white gowns, their fair hair flowing over 
their shoulders. They displayed nothing of the amused 
interest of ordinary children in the onlooking multitudes, 
and the marvelous pageant in which they were taking 
part ; they were as grave and as dignified as their elders, 
and as unsmiling as the Queen herself. Already the con- 
vention of strict schooling in state ceremonials was appar- 
ent in their bowed acknowledgements to the applauding 

crowd. 

As the Queen left Buckingham Palace to enter her car- 
riage the cannon boomed, and a fresh peal of chimes 
broke forth in strains more joyous than before. It seemed 
but a moment, until the announcement that she was ap- 
proaching passed from lip to lip, and but a moment more 
until there was a rustle and an eager movement, people 
bending forward for a better view, exclamations of "she 
has come I" and then a resounding cheer broke from ten 
thousand throats. The chiming bells were drowned by 
it and the clatter of hoofs and the roll of wheels were 
swallowed up ; nothing could be heard but that one pro- 
longed and mighty cry. 

The Queen rode in the state carriage, drawn by the 
eight cream-colored horses which are reserved for great 
occasions, each led by a groom in the royal livery. She 
sat alone, bowing gravely to the right and left; on 
the seat facing her was the beautiful Princess of Wales, 
and beside her the Prince Christian of Schleswig-Hol- 
stein. The Queen was very tastefully dressed, her cos- 



31 8 A Looker On in London 

tume being a pleasing change from the heavy mourning 
which she had worn since the death of the Prince Con- 
sort; her bonnet and gown were relieved with delicate 
touches of white and she carried a parasol of white lace 
over black, matching her toilette. Her carriage was pre- 
ceded by Lord Wolseley, the Commander-in-Chief of the 
British army. 

She was either fatigued from the unusual exertions of 
the preceding day or was greatly moved by the imposing 
spectacle — the greatest honor ever paid to any monarch, 
living or dead ; the universal congratulations of heathen- 
dom and Christendom; the spontaneous expression of 
good-will from every nation upon the globe. The Queen 
was very pale, but her countenance had a youthfulness 
that was striking and unexpected ; she sat very erect and 
displayed all the strength of vigorous middle age; the 
hand that held the parasol did not falter and even her 
silvery white hair parted over her brow, which was smooth 
and calm, failed to give her the appearance of a woman of 
her years. 

While the Princesses who preceded and accompanied 
her smiled graciously their acknowledgments, the Queen 
received the greeting of the people with profound serious- 
ness, impressed by the solemnity of the hour, as a woman 
of her sympathy and quick feeling could not fail to be im- 
pressed. In attendance upon the royal carriage were the 
Prince of Wales, newly created Field Marshal, the Duke 
of Connaught and the Duke of Cambridge, her Majesty's 
personal aid-de-camp. 

The Duchess of York, the Princess of Wales and the 
Duchess of Teck were the especial favorites of the multi- 
tude, among the Princesses. The greetings to the Duchess 
of Teck, who was greatly beloved, were affectionate in the 
extreme. She had just recovered from a dangerous illness 
and had made an especial effort to appear in the proces- 



The Diamond Jubilee 319 

sion ; no one dreamed then that her improvement was only 
temporary and that she was destined to pass away within 
the year. 

Behind the royal carriage came a miscellaneous com- 
pany of household dignitaries; Sir A. J. Bigge, equerry 
and private Secretary; Lieutenant Colonel, the Rt. Hon. 
Sir F. I. Edwards, Keeper of the Royal Purse, with other 
equerries and the Silver Stick in Waiting. As a whole, 
the procession was criticized as having been too exclu- 
sively military in its character; the greatness of the Em- 
pire in science, letters, art and jurisprudence, being un- 
represented. It had 'been remarked with some bitterness 
that not even the Lord Chief Justice had been asked to 
appear, an omission which he shared with the Lord Chan- 
cellor and other important dignitaries. As a matter of 
course, there were those ready to attribute this omission 
to the fact Of his Irish nationality, but it was an accusation 
sufficiently well disproved by the presence of a fine body 
of Irish Constabulary which, with a squadron of Royal 
Horse Guards, brought up the rear of the long proces- 
sion. At Temple Bar the Queen was met by the Lord 
Mayor, the Sheriffs of London and a deputation of Alder- 
men. Here the sword, the emblem of civic authority, was 
formally presented and, in court parlance "graciously re- 
turned." The chief ceremony at the steps of St. Paul's 
cathedral, included a Te Deum written for the occasion 
by Dr. Martin, the organist of St. Paul's ; a short special 
liturgy and prayer, one stanza of a hymn and the dbx- 
ology; the service occupied but a few moments and the 
procession then went on its way — company after company 
of splendidly uniformed troops, with their bands on foot 
and mounted on horseback, a confusion of fifes and ket- 
tledrums and piercing trumpets, through which there 
broke the hum and drone of the pipes as the Scotch regi- 
ments strode past; the Sovereign with her escort of 



320 A Looker On in London 

Princes and her retinue of equerries, passed on through 
Cheapside, over London bridge, along Borough road 
which she had not visited for ten years. Her humble sub- 
jects were thus also made participants in the Jubilee, thou- 
sands looking for the first time upon the countenance of 
their ruler. Throughout the ceremonies there had been 
the most fervent and affectionate expressions of loyalty, 
which I believe would not have been accorded any em- 
peror or king; a feeling of intense pride on the part of 
women who had come to do honor to one, who in 
her exalted station, had shared with the humblest the 
obligations and burdens of maternity. In the fealty of 
courtiers and soldiers there was a spirit of chivalry and 
reverence, the devotion of sons to whom the Queen was 
not only sovereign but a woman and a mother ; it was an 
unconscious recognition of the feminine element in the 
universe; the mother of a race receiving the homage of 
her children. 



CHAPTER XXV 

THE PRINCESS OF WALES' DINNER 

The Princess of Wales, who, it is said had never been 
very actively interested in philanthropic or charitable en- 
terprises, proposed that one feature of the Jubilee celebra- 
tion should be a dinner given in various quarters of Lon- 
don to the mendicant poor. All sorts of dire evils were 
prophesied — the gathering of beggars and criminals from 
all parts of the kingdom ; the great difficulties with which 
the police would have to contend, their endurance and in- 
telligence already taxed to the utmost with the greatly in- 
creased difficulties of their duties throughout Jubilee week. 
Then it was urged that it would be a foolish expenditure 
of money — a dinner that would be eaten in a few mo- 
ments, the cost of which would furnish the poor with 
supplies of necessaries that would last them many days. 
Various plans, however, were presented, amended and 
altered, until the anticipated difficulties were successfully 
overcome and no apprehension of failure remained. In- 
stead of one great dinner, it was wisely decided that there 
should be many ; each under the management of some well 
organized society accustomed to dealing with the poor; 
especially with those in the East End, although the charity 
was not to be confined to that district. Seven hundred 
were fed in Central Hall, Holborn; 400. at Clerkenwell 
road; 1,000 at Northampton Institute; 1,000 at St. Mar- 
tin's Town Hall; 1,000 at Assembly Hall, Mile End road; 
6,000 were feasted at dinners held in Spitalfields ; 10,000 
in the mission and parish schools of Islington ; 600 indi- 

321 



322 A Looker On in London 

gent blind at Surrey Chapel, Blackfriars road. In West 
Ham, the rule was varied, and, instead of a dinner 10,000 
were each given a half crown, which bought bread, meat 
and vegetables that the recipients were able to take home 
and share with their families. 

In many places the tables were spread and the guests 
were painstakingly served; in others, each man and 
woman was handed a paper bag containing bread, meat, 
cheese and fruit. But the benefaction was not confined 
to adults; children were included in the feast and they 
were certainly the most deserving, because they were help- 
less and unaccountable for their ignorance, poverty and 
misery. With other great undertakings, the Ragged 
School Union had consented to provide for 1,000 crippled 
children, as their part in the expenditure of what was 
called "the Princess of Wales Jubilee Fund." The chil- 
dren most needy and deserving had been carefully looked 
out by the district visitors attached to the Union ; alpha- 
betical lists prepared, giving the name and residence of 
each one of the fortunate thousand. Upon the teachers 
and visitors also devolved, in many instances, the duty 
of seeing to it that the little cripples were clean and prop- 
erly clad. For this reason, when they appeared at the din- 
ner, they did not seem half so miserable and neglected as 
might have been expected ; very few were ragged, for the 
clothes given them had been carefully mended, and even 
those who suffered most keenly were, for the moment, 
gladdened and comforted. 

Through the courtesy of the Lord Mayor, Sir Faudel 
Philips, and Mr. John Kirk, the Secretary of the Ragged 
School Union, I received a card to the dinner given the 
crippled children in Queen's Hall, People's Palace, Mile 
End road. The card was quite formal and artistic, the 
border and vignette portrait of the Queen in gold, with 
gold and scarlet lettering. 



The Princess of Wales' Dinner 323 

The morning was oppressively hot, the sun blazing in a 
cloudless sky, and the long journey by the underground 
railway, in an atmosphere stifling with smoke and gas, was 
like a descent into the Inferno. I had anticipated some 
difficulty in making my way through unsavory and ill- 
smelling crowds, which it might reasonably be expected 
would assemble in Mile End road. But the poor cannot 
indulge too frequently in holidays, and shops were open, 
people were occupied as usual, and there was nowhere any 
indication that any unusual event was pending. Many of 
the decorations of Tuesday still remained ; flags, portraits, 
and loyal mottoes and paper flowers, gaudy and profuse. 

Approaching the People's Palace the cripples began to 
appear; first, a stout, panting woman in a heavy black 
woolen dress climbed up the steps of the tram, carrying 
with difficulty a little girl of ten; she held the card of ad- 
mission in one coarse rough hand, the nails black and 
broken, and the other the child kissed repeatedly in her 
delight ; two girls, rather larger than this child, on heavy, 
awkward crutches, were helped in at the next crossing, 
with three at the next, until the seats were full ; all were 
bound to the banquet. 

At the entrance of the palace there was some excite- 
ment, though still no crowd ; but two detachments of po- 
lice were drawn up in line on either side of the gate, and 
an officer on horseback rode to and fro, keeping the wide 
road free of traffic. Then great vans rolled up, one after 
another, and out of these, children, big and little, sad and 
gay, laughing and sighing, were tenderly lifted ; others 
were wheeled in ugly perambulators of wood or wicker, 
such as are used by the poor, and from these also the little 
guests were carried through the entrance and the wagons 
pushed to one side. 

The guests who had been permitted to look on were 
asked to sit upon the platform, but, being unaware of this 



324 A Looker On in London 

I went up into the gallery, which encircled three sides of 
the great hall. From there the view was excellent, and I 
sat amongst the people, the mothers and relatives of the 
children, and listened to their conversation which proved 
to be deeply interesting. 

At one end of the hall a large carpeted platform was 
hung with crimson cloth and decorated with plants ; to the 
left, doors opened into a conservatory, or 'winter garden, 
which extended the entire length of the building. Twenty 
tables had been spread in the main body of the hall, each 
capable of seating fifty children, twenty-five on each side. 
These tables were divided into groups intersected at right 
angles by an aisle through which the helpers passed to 
and fro; the tables were covered with a white cloth and 
decorated with flowers, and at each place was a knife, fork 
and spoon, an orange and glass of bright yellow lemonade. 
The waiters who had volunteered their services wore a 
white band aroun'd the right arm by which they might be 
distinguished, and the officers of the school a purple rib- 
bon lettered in gold. Both young men and young women 
served as waiters, the latter bright eyed and rosy cheeked, 
in white caps and aprons. 

As the children arrived they were at once assigned their 
places at the table, some of them carried in the arms of 
men ; one poor tired, feeble looking woman brought a lit- 
tle girl of eleven who had lost a foot. The maimed child 
had a face of angelic sweetness and beauty which was par- 
tially hidden by a vail of fair, silken hair. Three could 
not be removed from their wheeled chairs and sat in them 
throughout the dinner; there were poor, thin wasted 
bodies, deformed and crooked legs, shapeless feet, hunch- 
backs ; and one wan face looked up from a hideous pro- 
truding breast ;a child of twelve held in her lap a limp little 
form, with a pretty face, a tangle of soft curly brown hair, 
and brown eyes that followed hungrily the kind, sisterly 



The Princess of Wales' Dinner 325 

hands that ceaselessly ministered to its comfort ; it was a 
tiny infant, apparently, deaf and dumb and with no power 
of lifting its head. Beside me sat a woman in a shabby 
black gown, who had with her a bright little boy of four, 
well and neatly dressed ; evidently all that she could scrape 
together had been spent on the child. The mother talked 
to me, very timidly at first, and then more readily and with 
less embarrassment. The little girl with the imbecile child 
had her especial sympathy, and she said, 'That pore little 
girl takes care of 'im all the time; she don't never go no- 
wheres without 'im. She taikes 'im to the cripples' school. 
'E doesn't know anythink at all, but the little girl's as kind. 
'E looks loike a babby, but Vs five years old." 

The attendants and nurses were kind and watchful and 
wonderfully efficient — two virtues that are not always 
found combined; the poor little people were spoken to 
very gently and their suffering bodies were carried very 
tenderly. One of the most sympathetic and cheerful of 
the helpers was a high dignitary with a purple ribbon 
around his sleeve, and as usually happens, his subordi- 
nates readily followed his example. 

At the head of each group of tables, cards had been 
posted with large white letters on a red ground, "A," "B," 
"C," "D," and so on ; and side tables were heaped with hot 
plates, immense smoking joints and basins of steaming 
potatoes with gravy, over which presided a ruddy-faced 
cook. It was understood that this was not to be the usual 
mission-school tea ; the food was substantial and there was 
plenty of it. The menu consisted of bread, roast beef, 
with two vegetables, jelly, pastry, lemonade and an orange 
for each child. For this one dinner 600 pounds of the best 
beef had been furnished, half a ton of potatoes, bushels of 
tarts, gallons of jam and marmalade, 2,000 apples and 
3,400 oranges. 

There were many vacant places— children who, at the 



326 A Looker On in London 

last moment it was found, were unable to come ; but even 
these were not forgotten; their dinner was sent to them. 
The bread was passed first, and laid upon the cloth; if 
the children were hungry they knew how to wait pa- 
tiently, and not one touched the thick slice until the signal 
to begin was given. Even after the first were seated, re- 
lays of guests kept arriving, carried in their parents' arms, 
swinging in on their crutches, tottering and reeling in tor- 
turing braces ; a child of seven walked painfully between 
two black-gowned nurses; a little boy bent and twisted 
with some cruel spinal ailment, rested his white cheek 
against his mother's bosom, tranquil and contented, and, 
for the time, happy. It was the most pathetic sight I 
had ever witnessed, and none but a heart of stone could 
have looked upon it unmoved. There was not a child in 
that great multitude who was not racked with pain, and 
there was not one that did not bear its suffering submis- 
sively and uncomplainingly. They had been disciplined 
in poverty's stern school of endurance and they bad ac- 
quired the fortitude of heroism. 

With the first note of the organ voluntary Lord Comp- 
ton, now the Marquis of Northampton, the chairman of the 
Ragged School Union, and his assistants hastened from 
the platform to the door, to welcome some mysterious vis- 
itors of whose arrival only they had been notified. Two 
lines were formed, the staff, the teachers and nurses on 
either hand ; arid then, after a moment's delay the Prince 
and Princess of Wales, the Princess Victoria, Prince and 
Princess Charles of Denmark, the Lord Mayor and 
Lady Mayoress, entered the hall. This explained the po- 
lice detail. The royal visit had been kept a secret, and 
the children were quite taken by surprise and of course 
they were delighted. Such a cheer as they gave ! for they 
recognized the royal visitors immediately. The most de- 
monstrative were two lads who stood upon their chairs, as 



The Princess of Wales' Dinner 327 

did all who could accomplish such a feat; one was in his 
shirt sleeves which was very much soiled, the other wore 
a man's overcoat that touched his heels and he held his 
battered cap under one arm ; they were the only noticeably 
untidy children present. 

As they entered the hall the Prince and Princess of 
Wales looked about them in wonderment; their first ex- 
pression was one of smiling amiability, but as they ob- 
served the suffering, distorted and stunted little figures 
more closely they were moved with profound sympathy. 

The Princess of Wales was very charming ; she wore a 
pretty gown of white and lilac, with lilac gloves and 
bonnet, and she must have appeared quite like the Princess 
of their ideal to the imaginative children. The Princesses, 
her daughters, were also in pretty, simple summer toi- 
lettes. 

The Lord Mayor, Sir Faudel Phillips, who received the 
Jubilee honor of a baronetcy, wore the great jeweled badge 
of his office and the purple ribbon across his breast ; the 
Lady Mayoress was in deep mourning. 

When the Royal party had ascended the platform "God 
Save the Queen" was sung standing — or at least by those 
who were able to stand ; then two little girls, in the neat 
blue uniform of the school, stepped forward and presented 
the Princess of Wales and the Lady Mayoress each with a 
bouquet. As the Princess stooped to receive the flowers 
with her usual gracious smile, one of the little maids was 
so overcome with emotion or timidity that she burst into 
tears, and the kind Princess comforted her with a few, 
gentle reassuring words. Behind me stood a haggard, 
melancholy woman and as she saw the weeping child, she 
wiped away the tears of sympathy that streamed down her 
hollow cheek. A brief speech was made by Lord Comp- 
ton, who dwelt upon the interest that the Prince and Prin- 
cess of Wales had manifested in all good works; he re- 



328 A Looker On in London 

ferred to the Royal Hospital Fund of which the Prince of 
Wales was a liberal patron, and the Jubilee Dinner Fund 
which the Princess of Wales had instituted and which 
would enable the poor of London to feast as they had 
never feasted before ; making the day one long to be re- 
membered. The Prince of Wales replied, his agreeable, 
well-modulated voice, with its distinct enunciation being 
clearly audible in every part of the hall, and the children 
listened with the most profound attention. He said, ad- 
dressing the chairman : 

"The Princess begs me to thank you for your very kind 
words. As you are well aware the Princess is most anx- 
ious to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee by some act of 
philanthropy on her part, and she thought that by giving a 
feast in the poorest parts of the metropolis, it might make 
a remembrance in the days to come. We are glad to come 
here to see the members of the Ragged School Union. 
We are glad to see so many bright faces, though some are 
sick and hungry. It has given us great pleasure to come 
here to take part in this great ceremony; and before the 
children sit down I will call for three cheers for the 
Queen." The Prince, himself, gave the signal, waving his 
hat as he stepped a little closer to the front of the plat- 
form and the cheers were given with a will. Then he 
smiled good-humoredly and said: 

"Now begin." 

Knives and forks were seized, the plates were set be- 
fore the children heaped with smoking beef and vegeta- 
bles. There was no display of greed or hurry, hungry as 
most of the children must have been ; considering who and 
what they were, their good behavior was remarkable. 

The speech-making over, the Royal party descended the 
platform and walked about amongst the children.- The 
Prince of Wales escorted by Lord Compton paused at the 
first table, patted one child on the head asked some amused 



The Princess of Wales' Dinner 



3 2 9 



question about the lemonade and then drank from the 
glass that was handed to him to inspect. This delighted the 
children beyond words, and they laughed and applauded 
rapturously — laughter in which His Royal Highness 
joined very heartily. The Prince of Wales is said to be 
one of the greatest connoisseurs of wine in Europe and if 
the democratic beverage proved unpalatable, he drank it 
and made no sign. Presently he approached the child who 
was holding the imbecile baby ; his face grew grave, and 
he paused beside her chair and spoke to her kindly and 
seriously, and the little mother looked up at him fearlessly 
and honestly, too simple or careworn to feel awed or 
abashed. 

In the meantime, the Princess with her daughters, the 
Lord Mayor and the Lady Mayoress were also walking 
about; and her Royal Highness frequently paused here 
and there, speaking a word of encouragement and ap- 
proval, neither patronizing nor indifferent, but touched, 
as any warm-hearted woman must have been, by that 
sight of suffering childhood. 

There were two aspects in the meeting of these ex- 
tremes — royalty born to the purple and these representa- 
tives of the East End poor. On the one hand, the simple 
and unassuming demeanor of the royal visitors, their un- 
affected simplicity and kindness explained the profound 
loyalty of the common people toward their rulers. In the 
manner of the Prince of Wales, whose hereditary place 
and honors were secure, there was nothing of the political 
aspirant bidding for the support of a constituency, nor was 
there the coldness and superciliousness, and the plainly 
indicated impatience to take his leave as soon as possible, 
which may be seen, on occasion, among the nouveau riche 
who play at philanthropy in my own democratic country. 
On the other hand, there was something fine in the self- 
respecting dignity with which both the mothers and chil- 



330 A Looker On in London 

dren who were addressed received the attention of the 
Prince and Princess. As they passed out of the hall some 
elegantly dressed women of the middle class made the 
lowest obeisance ; but the humbler women in their serge 
gowns stood erect, and looked royalty straight in the face ; 
and answered the questions addressed to them respect- 
fully, but without hesitation or confusion, and with an inde- 
pendence that does not flourish always in the atmosphere 
of Mayfair or Belgravia. I had seen ladies of high degree 
almost kneel in the dust, and Americans even surpassing 
these high-born toadies in the excess of their self-abase- 
ment. But these poor women, their hands hardened by 
toil, forgot the rank and title of their future King and 
Queen and recognized only the man, the woman, the 
friend. 

When the Royal party had departed the serious business of 
the day — eating the dinner — was begun in earnest. The 
plates were speedily emptied, but here and there was a 
nervous, highly-wrought child too much overcome by all 
the excitement, or too ill to eat ; and before such the food 
remained untouched. 

At the close grace was said, the doxology was sung, and 
when the plates were removed a programme of music and 
calisthenics was given by the pupils of the school, for the 
entertainment of the children, the gymnasts being strong, 
active and well-trained girls. 

Altogether, the Jubilee dinners, both at the People's Pal- 
ace and throughout London, were most successful, and, 
had the day brought nothing more than a happy respite, a 
few brief hours of pleasure and satisfaction to those thou- 
sand crippled children, it must have more than repaid the 
men and women who had expended the Princess of Wales' 
Fund with such wisdom and impartiality. 



CHAPTER XXVI 

THE ILLUMINATIONS 

So short-lived is human interest in any event that the 
great day of the Jubilee having passed, the restoration of 
London to its former state began immediately. On 
Wednesday morning four-wheeled cabs were drawn up in 
front of lodgings everywhere, from Maida Vale to the bor- 
ders of Belgravia; these were loaded with luggage, and 
men, women and children, hurrying out, betook themselves 
to the country and the provincial towns whence the at- 
tractions of London had drawn them. Hansoms returned 
to their customary tariff, and the omnibus, once more "full 
up," accepted pennies where it had extorted shillings. The 
price of food had gone down — a prodigious over-supply 
having been laid in by the green-grocers and restaurants, 
tons of which had been wasted or sold for a trifle; and 
the placard "Apartments" was once more displayed in 
windows along Baker street, throughout the dreary re- 
gions of Bloomsbury and in plebeian Bayswater. Scaf- 
foldings and stands melted like frost in the sunshine, and 
St. Martin's in the Field, the Athenaeum and other clubs 
came forth from their temporary eclipse. One realized, 
as never before, the real comfort of ordinary, humdrum 
life. For ten days London had been the most uncom- 
fortable city on the globe. During that time the British 
subject, no matter how polite or amiable by nature, 
snapped if you looked at him. The most characteristic 
figure I had seen that week was a stout woman of fifty, 
crimson and perspiring, who climbed into an Atlas' bus 

33i 



332 A Looker On in London 

Piccadilly Circus. She sat down, drawing deep stertor- 
ous breaths, and looked at her fellow passengers with the 
expression of one deeply injured; her bonnet was tipped 
over one ear and her umbrella handle had been snapped 
off short; she had simply endeavored to make her way 
across Piccadilly Circus and reached the distant curb- 
stone with rent garments, straining seams and bursting 
buttons, bristling and disheveled and indignant. 

The illuminations on the evening of the 22d promised 
to be in keeping with the pageant of the day ; but every 
one anticipated a crowd, through which it would be almost 
impossible to move, and postponed seeing the show until 
the evening of Wednesday. Thus, on the first evening, 
while the streets and railway stations were comparatively 
free, the evening following, locomotion became not only 
difficult but almost impossible. It meant getting over 
the ground inch by inch, and resistance to incessant 
and painful elbowing, pushing and prodding. The rich 
drove in cabs and carriages ; the poor and the robust pat- 
ronized the omnibus, which had been excluded from the 
usual thoroughfares on the evening of the 22d, and there 
were thousands who were courageous enough to attempt 
going on foot. The more rational and discreet, those of 
moderate means and of ordinary strength, remained 
quietly within doors, devoutly thankful, after all the hurly 
burly and excitement, for a quiet retreat where they might 
be shut away from the sight of human beings and the tu- 
mult of human activity. 

I had promised the housekeeper, who was not able to 
leave home on Tuesday, that she should see the illumina- 
tions on Wednesday evening under my guidance and pro- 
tection, and this is a true narrative of our adventures. 

We set out at nine o'clock, at which hour it was still 
broad daylight, to take the Atlas' bus at the "Princess of 
Wales" to ride through Baker street, Oxford and Regent 



The Illuminations 333 

streets and Whitehall, over Westminster bridge, through 
the East End and back again— the route that I had taken 
on Monday evening previous. We supposed that we 
would be amongst the last, having given the crowd time 
to set out in advance of us, but we found a great throng 
who had taken a like precaution, and who were also anx- 
iously waiting for places. Each omnibus, departing at in- 
tervals of a few minutes, was filled to its utmost capacity. 
As it was useless to wait, we walked a mile, or more, to 
meet an empty vehicle on its return, but in this scheme, 
also, we had been anticipated by scores who had been 
moved by the same impulse. After much delay we found 
one 'bus with just three places on top, and these our small 
party were fortunate enough to secure. We were no 
sooner seated than up came a Jew, very big, very loud of 
voice and very aggressive; he was accompanied by his 
wife and half-grown daughter. A place was found for his 
wife, but the daughter was thrust into a seat already oc- 
cupied by two persons, one of them a mild and inoffensive 
woman. It occasionally happens that the outwardly mild 
and inoffensive are the most dangerous when roused, and 
so it proved to be in this case. The woman protested em- 
phatically, stating that she had paid, not one fare but two, 
for her seat, and that the law was being violated. This 
led to what the English call a "jolly row," which brought 
the Jewish gentleman to the scene of action ; after seating 
his family he had perched out of sight, but not out of 
hearing, on the steps below. He was violent and insult- 
ing, and finally the quiet woman turned to him and asked 
cuttingly : 

"You're a Jew, aren't you ?" 

It may have been shockingly ill-bred, but she had been 
goaded to desperation. The question only increased the 

man's fury. 

"A Jew! A Jew!" he screamed, "and what are you? 



334 



A Looker On in London 



An atheist, I suppose; yes, an atheist! You look like an 
atheist. I'm not ashamed of my religion; you are of 
yours, for I see you won't tell what it is. The Lord Mayor 
of London is a Jew, perhaps you don't know that ; yes, the 
Lord Mayor of London is a Jew, and so was Lord Bea- 
consfield, and I don't suppose you ever heard of Moses 
Montefiore." 

The woman replied to this harangue with, "stop your 
abuse or I'll give you in charge." 

This kindled the man's wrath afresh and when the con- 
ductor was appealed to he said angrily : 

"O, 'ush your row !" 

By this time a third person intervened, and the indig- 
nant Jew was induced to place his daughter beside his 
wife, to which that lady greatly objected, and for a time 
hostilities were suspended. There was also on top a party 
of country folk from Derbyshire, and they huddled to- 
gether and looked on at the quarrel, the shrieking Jew and 
the indefatigable woman who maintained her rights, with 
the dazed and frightened expression of sheep peering 
through a gap in a hedge at a rough and tumble fight be- 
tween two collies. 

These people the Jew endeavored by every means to 
oust from their seats that he might get possession of them, 
shouting out that "they'd have to pay a shilling more when 
they got to Orchard street." This statement was promptly 
contradicted by the other passengers who were disposed 
to protect the country people, and a renewal of difficulties 
for a moment seemed imminent. Finally with this lively 
prologue to the evening's melodrama, which threatened a 
tragedy before it was finished, we rolled away. 

The sight was a pretty one, but it hardly equalled our 
expectations ; the trees in the gardens through St. John's 
wood and Regent Park were strung with many-colored 
fairy lamps ; here and there were the familiar and unvaried 



The Illuminations 335 

designs; coronets, the royal or imperial monogram, the 
national coat of arms ; the crest of the Prince of Wales in- 
terwoven with the shamrock, rose and thistle. Japanese 
lanterns were suspended from balconies, and from sway- 
ing and sagging lines thrown across the roadway, and, 
mingled with these, were flags and flowers, effective by 
daylight, but which were dimmed in the more brilliant 
glow of the illuminations. Drapers' shops on Oxford street 
were lighted from foundation to cornice, gas and electric- 
ity both being employed. The gas jets were extinguished 
by every puff of wind and men were required continually 
to relight them. There had been a long discussion in the 
newspapers as to the respective merits of gas and elec- 
tricity prior to the Jubilee, the general verdict being in fa- 
vor of gas as "less glaring ;" but the trouble that it gave as 
compared to electricity must have made it apparent that 
nothing equals the soft, steady brilliancy of electricity. 

The crush in the streets was indescribable, far greater 
than on the morning of the Jubilee when the thorough- 
fares had been closed to traffic. Carriages, cabs, vans, car- 
riers' carts filled with men, women and children from the 
poorer districts of London, with all the thousands of om- 
nibuses that ply the streets of the metropolis daily, seemed 
to have been massed together in an inextricable tangle. 
The police, unexcited, gentle and patient, stood grouped 
in the "shelters" and endeavored to take some supervision 
of the chaos. Now one of them stepped briskly out of his 
place and seized a horse by the bridle, or backed him until 
he reared on his haunches, and this summary act was fol- 
lowed by the noise of backing vehicles which sounded like 
the switching of an empty freight train. Through the 
snarl of wheels and hoofs and tossing manes, thousands of 
people passed on foot ; scores of men and half-grown boys, 
following each other in single file. Occasionally there 
would be a line, each man with his hands extended and 



336 A Looker On in London 

resting on the shoulders of the man in front of him — files 
that were roughly torn apart by the watchful police. 
Scores of fool-hardy Women had brought with them 
broods of babies that could scarcely toddle. It was pleas- 
ant, though, to see that even these were helped and cared 
for; nobody reproached the poor mothers or told them 
that they should have remained at home ; the long-suffer- 
ing "bobby" made way for them; a big hobbledehoy of a 
lad, or a gentleman in patent leather shoes and evening 
dress trying to reach his club, would pick up the children 
and pass them along like so many buckets at a village 
fire. The sidewalks were packed solidly from wall to 
curbstone, and they accommodated only a fraction of the 
thousands that overflowed into the road among the traf- 
fic. Our omnibus crawled along almost imperceptibly, 
with long and frequent halts; and we were nearly two 
hours in going from Oxford street to Trafalgar square. 
Here the crowd was more immovable than ever; we had 
quite forgotten that it was a "command night" at the 
opera; that all the visiting Princes and potentates would 
appear, a spectacle such as Covent Garden had not wit- 
nessed for many a decade. Down Pall Mall, to Marlbor- 
ough House and Buckingham Palace the streets were 
closed, the right of way being reserved for royalty and 
their guests. 

We could not, of course, cross the square, but worked 
our way by a devious and unfamiliar route in the neigh- 
borhood of the Metropole hotel to Westminster bridge. 
The larger hotels, which were patronized by Americans, 
were one dazzling sheet of colored lamps, row upon 
row, of red, white and blue. At Westminster bridge there 
was another dismal blockade; it was impossible to get 
through it, so the driver turned and made his way back 
to Trafalgar square. Here there was still no thorough- 
fare, although by this time it was half past eleven o'clock, 



The Illuminations 337 

so the horses' heads were turned again in the direction 
of the Parliament building, near which we were caught 
once more, and the exciting scenes of Oxford street were 
re-enacted. The line of traffic had closed behind us and 
stretched interminably in front, as solid as a stone wall. 
It was somewhat appalling; we knew we were there to 
remain until the mass in front of us moved, as it did, step 
only at a time ; there was no going back, and little hope of 
going forward, and we waited at a dead standstill with 
what patience we could muster for three quarters of an 
hour. Near the omnibus was a carriage with a pair of 
magnificent horses ; one of them was terrified by the blaze 
of lights from the illuminations over the door of the Met- 
ropolitan railway station, and trembled in every nerve, 
tossing its head in anguish, with nostrils dilated, breast 
and forehead flecked with foam. As in Oxford street, pe- 
destrians wound in and out, jumped and crawled among 
hoofs and wheels, all preserving their good nature and 
self-control. Here and there, through that jumble of vehi- 
cles and quadrupeds, came the shrill notes of the latest 
music hall ballad, sung or whistled by wayfaring gamins, 
in which they were joined from time to time by the impa- 
tient prisoners on the top of the omnibuses. When a space 
in front of us was comparatively clear and the wheels 
began to turn once more, all hope of getting across the 
bridge being abandoned, we were taken quite out of the 
ordinary route, down Victoria street, past the Colonial of- 
fices, the Army and Navy stores — hotels with scarlet uni- 
formed sentries at the entrance betokening the presence 
of envoys or of royalty — and all outvying each other in 
the brilliancy and profusion of their flags, lights and gar- 
lands. From Victoria street we turned into Buckingham 
Palace road and here was another blockade, quite as hope- 
less as that from which it had taken us nearly an hour to 
get free in Westminster. The driver was tired, cross and, 



33» 



A Looker On in London 



as it soon became apparent, far from sober. He turned the 
distracted horses with a jerk, the huge omnibus swayed 
and reeled, the wheels grating against the curbstone as it 
bounced upon the sidewalk and jolted down again. That 
we were saved from a frightful catastrophe was due alone 
to an interposing providence. Most of us were silent, but 
I gave a gasp and held fast to the seat in front of me with 
the clutch of despair. One woman went off into shriek- 
ing hysterics but was brought to her senses by a stern 
rebuke and vigorous and painful pinching from the 
woman behind her, who emphasized her pinchings with 
the angry exhortation : 

"Keep quiet; behave yourself; how dare you !" and, thus 
disciplined, the refractory one held her arms close to her 
sides, sobbing and sighing, but obedient. And then be- 
gan a ride which none of us is likely ever to forget. We 
went bounding and jolting back over a part of the route by 
which we had come, grazing the curbstones and making 
the shortest possible turns around corners into Eton 
square; from Sloane street to Knightsbridge, from 
Knightsbridge to West Kensington, thence to Nottinghill 
Gate, to Paddington and finally to Westbourne Grove and 
up to the door of the Jew who had succeeded in getting the 
Derbyshire people to alight in Piccadilly Circus, and find 
their way as best they could to St. Pancreas railway sta- 
tion, while he disposed his family about him in their seats, 
from which he had finally ousted them. This gave him 
a place at the driver's elbow, and unknown to the rest of 
us, he engineered the omnibus through the semi-darkness 
of unfrequented streets, far from the scene of the Jubilee 
rejoicings. It was no merit of his that we reached home 
unharmed and alive. London 'bus drivers are, as a rule 
experts; ours was both drunk and stupid, but we were 
absolutely at his mercy. A cab could not have been hired 
under two guineas an hour, and in this out-of-the-way re- 



The Illuminations 339 

gion, at one o'clock in the morning— for it was now long 
past midnight— we would have been charged twice that 
sum. We were far from all the known omnibus routes and 
had no choice but to stick to the dangerous vehicle and 
the crazy driver, trusting to luck. The greater part of the 
police force were detailed to the crowded centers and we 
could not appeal to them— at least not then. Finally we 
stopped at a public house; three or four of the men 
alighted, went into the place and slaked their thirst ; the 
Jew returning with a glass of beer for the driver and a 
glass of sherry for his wife. This was consumed easily 
and leisurely, and, after the lapse of twenty minutes or 
more, the men returned and off we went again. We 
scraped curbstones, bounced into holes and out again, an- 
other perilous turn on the sidewalk was made with a nar- 
rower escape from capsizing than before, then we re- 
traced our course and turned again. We were now in 
streets where an omnibus had apparently never been seen, 
and roused by the unusual rumble of wheels people came 
to their windows, aroused from sleep, and peered out 
wonderingly. A man and woman among the passengers 
on top had 'been ominously silent; but the man now rose 
in his might. 

" 'Ere, you !" he shouted to the conductor ; "I want to 
know where you're taikin' us. We want to go to Baiker 

street." 

"Yes," his wife shrieked confirming this sudden speech. 
"We got in at Victoria"— miles away— "and we told you 
that we wanted to go to Baiker street." 

We were then quite as far from Baker street as we 
were from Victoria, and we sympathized with the rage of 
the screaming woman. 

"This is a pretty way to treat honest folks I must say- 
tell 'em you'll taike 'em to Baiker street and bring 'em to 
Paddington. Oh you'll pay for this lemme tell you !" and 



34° A Looker On in London 

the savage snarl with which thi indefinite threat con- 
cluded was blood-curdling. 

The conductor, who, no doubt, had also been subsidized 
by the Jew, came running up on top and endeavored to 
pacify her; but she paid no attention, and her husband, 
recognizing her superior fluency, let her do the most of 
the remonstrating, although he had no feeble command 
of language himself. The woman went on in a steady 
crescendo : 

"You told us you'd let us hofT at Baiker street, and 'ere 
we are at Paddington, all the way from Victoria at this 
hour in the morning/' 

The man interpolated in a deep bass, with awful con- 
viction and solemnity : 

"It was that glass of beer that done it. I saw 'em. I 
saw that man and woman on the front seat bargaining 
to be taiken 'ome. It was that glass of beer that done it." 

He repeated the last charge with concentrated acrimony 
and both the conductor and the Jew were discreetly si- 
lent. Presently we turned into a somewhat more cheerful 
thoroughfare which was reasonably well-lighted. On the 
corner the driver's accusers spied two policemen — 'the first 
that we had sighted since we left Trafalgar square, and 
the man shouted at them with a bellow that must have 
roused the whole neighborhood. In fact it did, for there 
was a sound of exclamations and racing feet, and even at 
that hour a crowd began to collect — the belated, who, like 
ourselves, had been out to see the illuminations. The 
driver attempted to whip up the horses and get away ; he 
was sober enough to try to evade the clutches of the law, 
but the police called to him, ordered him to stop, and then 
ran after us. The driver, thus coerced, stopped the horses, 
and both he and the conductor were obliged to come down 
from their places, join the officers in the road and give an 
account of themselves, and they were speedily reinforced 



The Illuminations 341 

by the husband of the irate woman. The guilty ones were 
closely interrogated, the conductor endeavoring to break 
into the informant's story, but was ordered to keep quiet, 
while the crowd closed round them in an interested circle. 
One of the policemen took out a small book, entered the 
complaint therein, something was said as to further in- 
vestigations, names and addresses were given and we were 
then allowed to proceed. 

The woman, however, was not in the least pacified, she 
went on and on like a Greek chorus, in monotonous re- 
iteration : 

"It was a shoime, so it was ; they got on at Victoria to 
be taiken to Baiker street, and 'ere they were, goodness 
knows where. They got on at Victoria and they wanted 
to be taiken to Baiker street, and they would be taiken to 
Baiker street." 

The moon had now risen and threw a ghostly light over 
the scene; we were in Kilbourne and the vehicle halted 
before an unpretentious villa very much gone to stucco. 
The Jew who had bribed the driver with more than beer 
I suspected, gathered his family together and descended. 
He had kept perfectly still during the last uproar, but he 
was now safe at home and had nothing more to fear. 

"Calls herself a laidy ; nice sort of a laidy she is," said 
the woman driven to madness again at the superior good 
fortune of the Jew in being brought to his door. 

Her husband joined in: 

"You'll 'ear about this in the morning," he shouted, 
at which the victorious Jew paused before his gate, under 
the lamp post, took out his card-case and held up a bit of 
paste-board. 

"Perhaps you'd like my card," he yelled in reply. 
"Here it is, if you want it. No? Well, good-night," em- 
phasizing the first syllable with exasperating malice. 

A very young and quiet man had slipped into the seat 



342 A Looker On in London 

beside me during a lull in the conflict, after we had 
dropped most of our passengers, and he said : 

"I have missed my train to Bristol, and I cannot get 
another until seven o'clock." 

"Too bad I" I exclaimed sympathizingly. 

"Oh, not at all," he replied, politely, "I shall not have 
long to wait, now. This has been awfully amusing, don't 
you know. I'll just stick to the 'bus and see what does 
happen." 

This is what did happen almost immediately; the en- 
raged woman across the aisle stood up and cried in tones 
that were not to be disregarded, addressing the con- 
ductor : 

"Now, sir, taike us straight away to Baiker street." 

The conductor parleyed and protested and argued, and 
offered to hire a cab and send them at his own expense. 

"No sir," she replied viciously, "We goes to Baiker 
street, and we goes in this 'bus." 

The conductor gave a sigh and then surrendered; he 
muttered some order to the driver which our party failed 
to catch, but its meaning was immediately made clear; 
for the dozenth time the driver turned the tired horses 
and started off in precisely the opposite direction from 
that in which he had been driving. 

"Now where are you going?" I, at least, ventured to ask 
of the conductor. 

"To Baiker street," replied the man, laconically and 
sullenly. 

In one brief night he had been in two rows, invited to 
drink at a public house and accepted the invitation, had 
been given over to the police — the vengeance of Nemesis 
finally overtaking him for failing to settle the Jew in the 
start. 

"Not with us," I declared sternly, roused also to re- 
sistance. "Stop instantly, and let us off." 



The Illuminations 343 

Home was within comfortable walking distance, for 
we were now in High street, Kilbourne. The omnibus 
stopped again for the twentieth time, and we descended, 
tired, stiff, disgusted, but thankful to be upon solid 
ground with no bones broken. We walked through the 
deserted streets, escorted by a trio of gallant Etonians 
who also declined to be taken back to "Baiker" street, and 
the 'bus rattled away, with the triumphant woman and 
her husband and the young man from Bristol on top, the 
sole remaining passengers. Morning was coming fast 
when we rang the bell and the sleepy housemaid let us in. 

"I do not see how we ever reached home alive," I re- 
marked with a sigh of relief. 

The housekeeper who was a devout Christian Scientist 
replied with a conviction that admitted no argument: 

"I demonstrated every step of the way!" 



CHAPTER XXVII 

THE JUBILEE COMMEMORATION AT OXFORD 

After the turmoil and fatigue of Jubilee week in Lon- 
don, it was pleasant to get into the country, if only for 
a few days. The Commemoration exercises at Oxford 
on the 30th of June were of especial interest, and I had 
looked forward to the event with many pleasant anticipa- 
tions. In addition to the ordinary programme, degrees 
were conferred upon the colonial premiers who were 
guests of honor at the annual fete which was held in the 
gardens of Wadham College. The day reminded me of 
the usual commencement day at any American Univer- 
sity — clear and hot with haymaking in progress in the 
fields along which we passed. I had gone to Banbury 
first, to spend the night with friends, returning with them 
to Oxford the following day. 

The streets of the fine old town were comparatively 
empty, contrary to expectation, the undergraduates hav- 
ing been rather surfeited with the preceding week's 
entertainments — a brilliant succession of breakfasts, 
luncheons, dinners and boat races — and hundreds of them 
had gone home. Here and there, in the open windows 
of their tastefully furnished chambers, both in lodgings 
through the town, and of apartments looking out upon 
the peaceful quadrangle of the grey old colleges — were the 
bright faces of their sisters and their girl friends; and 
we also had fleeting glimpses of books and pictures, the 
paraphernalia of sport, and other possessions which un- 
dergraduates gather around them, whatever their na- 

344 



Jubilee Commemoration at Oxford 345 

tionality. There appeared to be a great rivalry in win- 
dow-gardens, and every window-sill was a bank of bril- 
liant flowers, so that the walls, already green with ivy, 
seemed to have spontaneously burst forth into blossom. 
A few of the men — as the young undergraduates call 
themselves — those who had lingered after their mates 
had gone, strolled along on the shady side of High street, 
each hat encircled with a ribbon band — 'the college colors 
of the wearer. Prior to assisting in the programme fixed 
for the day we looked through what is known as "The 
Schools" — a fine new building in which the examinations 
are held. 

There are a number of large well-lighted rooms, and 
the corridors are finished in beautiful marble from many 
parts of the world; lapis lazuli from Labrador, as iridis- 
cent as an opal, having been employed in the decorations, 
with fine effect. The ceilings were set in squares of 
marble, each elaborately carved, a work which was then 
being slowly completed. 

The rooms in which the examinations were held con- 
tained a number of small, plain deal tables, much splashed 
with ink, and there were also great blotches of the same 
liquid on the matting-covered floor. On several of the 
tables were bundles of quills, for this is a region, like the 
Law Courts, still uninvaded by the fountain pen and other 
pernicious modern innovations. 

At one side, upon a canopied dais in each room, was a 
stately chair of carved oak where the presiding official 
sat enthroned while the examinations were in progress; 
his elevated seat giving him an excellent view of the men 
ranged before him. 

Judging from the amount of ink that had been spilled, 
and the spirited sketches on the tables, the struggle of 
many of the candidates must have been a severe one. 
There were bold and shameless caricatures of the dons; 



346 A Looker On in London 

pictures of dogs; of men in boating dress; of female 
heads, and, with these, legends more or less appropriate. 
One troubled and discomfited soul had thus parodied 
Gray's Elegy : 

"Homeward the ploughed man plods his weary way." 

Another had scrawled concisely and significantly: 

"Ploughed in history." 
Still another had written: 

"Ploughed, June 22nd ; what a Jubilee !" 

This verse was indicative of a spirit less gloomy: 

"There was a young man warden of Merton 
Who went into hall with no shirt on; 
When asked if 'twas wise 
To appear in that guise 
'Saves washinV said the warden of Merton." 

In the corridors below, near the entrance, lists had 
been posted the names of those who had successfully 
passed their examinations; and the undergraduates, in 
twos and threes strolled in, read them and strolled out 
again. 

It is said that at the conferring of degrees the part 
performed by the undergraduates has now become a mere 
spiritless imitation of former days, and it is considered 
scarcely amusing. 

The exercises were held in the Sheldonian theatre, the 
main body of which was set aside for distinguished visi- 
tors and guests; while the undergraduates and their 
friends were remanded to the galleries. As the appointed 
hour approached, the bustle of the arriving audience in- 
creased ; and stout matrons, dignified fathers and the 
pretty cousins and sisters of the young men, were con- 



Jubilee Commemoration at Oxford 347 

ducted to their seats and sat looking about them and talk- 
ing in undertones, commenting on the place and the au- 
dience. 

The procession of University dignitaries marched 
in with the distinguished guests of the day, and occupied 
the seats reserved for them ; it was headed by the Vice- 
Chancellor in his scarlet gown, followed by the doctors of 
divinity in scarlet robes with sleeves of black velvet ; doc- 
tors of law in scarlet and rose-colored, with the masters 
of arts in plain black cap and gown ; with them appeared 
the Mayor of Oxford in his official dress and wearing his 
gold chain. The center of observation was Sir Wilfrid 
Laurier, the Canadian Premier, who had been received 
with great enthusiasm wherever he was present during 
the week of the Jubilee. His finely cut features, smooth 
face and long, waving hair gave him an appearance of 
great refinement and intellectuality, a somewhat ascetic 
type, strikingly different from the more florid and heavily 
bearded faces of the Englishmen seated near him. The ad- 
dresses were in Latin — the old sonorous Latin of the 
monks — and it was pleasing to realize that the mannerisms 
of our western schools were unknown in this great uni- 
versity. What we call "Continental Latin," Oxford has 
scorned as an affectation, an outcome of the so-called aes- 
thetic movement of twenty years ago. 

On Commemoration Day what at other times would be 
regarded as common propriety is thrown to the winds; 
latitude is given the undergraduates which has no parallel 
anywhere in the United States; it might be regarded as 
the annual reaction, which is permitted once in the year, 
against the punctilious subordination that prevails at 
other times. 

The dons, whom they must properly recognize, and 
who are properly respected on most occasions but this, are 
apparently "paid off," to use the English phrase, and it is 



348 A Looker On in London 

a wiping out of old scores that is accepted with the ut- 
most good humor; a species of what American students 
would call "getting even," although it is devoid of ill- 
nature and there is nothing in it approaching mean re- 
venge. It is certain, however, that it is a pretty severe sort 
of chaffing; a good many of the comments strike home 
with unerring aim. The well-known foibles of the victims 
are mercilessly exposed, and all this is done with the po- 
liteness of Chesterfield and in the most polished and ad- 
mirable diction, varied only by apt quotations from the 
Music hall lore of the moment. 

The effect, to an American, is startling. The par- 
enthetic remarks from the galleries, where it is impossible 
to identify the speaker, breaking in upon the flowing 
periods, the musical Latin of the orators — men of the 
highest social and official position and of the profoundest 
learning. 

For example, it was pretty well understood that a 
gentleman present expected knighthood in the award of 
Jubilee honors, and one of the speakers was suddenly in- 
terrupted by a voice: 

"That is quite enough, thanks. We should now be 
pleased to hear from Mr. D — ." 

There was strong emphasis on the "Mr." which served 
to remind that disappointed gentleman and the audience, 
as well, of the title which had been withheld. This au- 
dacious speech was seconded by some one else who re- 
marked : 

"Speak up Mr. D. — we are not quite able to hear you." 

"Perhaps Mrs. D — will oblige." 

The latter remark was not approved; "dragging her 
in" was considered unfair and rather beyond the limits 
of even Commemoration Day indulgence. 

As one of the stateliest of the candidates moved for- 



Jubilee Commemoration at Oxford 349 

ward to the platform, another fresh young voice quoted 
cheerfully and gaily, the Empire ditty: 

"Noiv we shan't be long." 

How the orators could keep their countenance and con- 
tinue speaking in the midst of these disconcerting and 
often very funny interruptions was puzzling; but they 
knew what they must expect and were in a certain degree 
prepared; at any rate, it was a forcible proof of their 
powers of concentration, and of their dignity, acquired 
and inbred. 

The exercises at the theatre were followed by a splen- 
did luncheon in the hall at All Souls', and in the after- 
noon by the fete which began at half past three. The 
gardens of Wadham which had been selected for the oc- 
casion, were beautiful and extensive, but they lacked the 
water-view which adds so greatly to the attractions of 
Magdalen and other colleges. The scene was most charm- 
ing, and the grounds, with their velvet lawns, trees 
and shrubbery, with glimpses of the walls and spires 
of the adjacent colleges, was a fitting and harmonious 
setting for the picture. The dignitaries of the college 
again appeared in their scarlet robes, silken hoods, and 
adornments of ermine; here and there was an Indian 
Prince, his European dress modified by his white or bright 
colored turban; a pretty Indian Princess in draperies of 
gauze and a veil of thin yellow tissue, which became her 
admirably, sat surrounded by her friends, looking on with 
childish delight. In addition to all these more conspic- 
uous figures, were the ordinary folk, men in morning 
dress, irreproachably gloved, with the inevitable top hat, 
the innovation of the Prince of Wales not yet having dis- 
turbed the conservatism of Oxford; ladies gaily attired 
in light silks and muslins, hats and bonnets covered with 
flowers, carrying red, blue, white and yellow parasols 
which, in the sunshine brightened the lawns with unusual 



350 A Looker On in London 

and ever-changing color. There was the inevitable lunch- 
eon of ices, cakes, strawberries, grapes, claret-cup and 
lemonade which was served under a marquee, while else- 
where tea, coffee, bread and butter were provided those 
who preferred plainer fare. 

The animation of an English gathering is scrupulously- 
subdued on such occasions; people strolled about or sat 
in groups talking in low agreeable voices, or listened 
critically to the music, a delightful band being stationed 
in one part of the gardens, while elsewhere a quartette of 
male voices sang old glees and ballads. 

The Vice Chancellor was the central figure of the fete, 
a man of remarkable distinction and dignity, and Bishops 
and other clergy were largely represented, each dis- 
tinguishable by his hood, bands or sleeves. The Mayor 
who was present at the fete with his wife, was respectfully 
and cordially greeted on every side and invariably ad- 
dressed as "Mr. Mayor." In England a title is a title, and 
it is on no account ever forgotten. 

From the moment a man is knighted he is addressed 
as "Sir" and his wife as "Lady," and there is none of the 
awkward "getting used to it" that would inevitably fol- 
low with us — stumbling and jumbling together the new 
and the old— "Mr."— "Sir," or "Mrs."— "Lady." A title 
is highly valued and to withhold the proper address, once 
it is acquired, is looked upon as a species of injustice and 
lack of breeding; its instantaneous and unerring recog- 
nition is one more evidence of the exactitude of the Brit- 
ish mind. 

I had the great pleasure of being introduced to Dr. 
R — , the head of the Oxford University Extension move- 
ment, which has been so successful and which is yearly 
widening its usefulness, both in Great Britain and the 
United States. Dr. R — spoke with much pleasure of the 
movement in America, where its advancement had far ex- 



Jubilee Commemoration at Oxford 351 

ceeded anything that could have been hoped for it, and 
he gave me some information as to meetings that were 
to be held the first week in August, at which many Ameri- 
cans were expected to be present. 

At half past five the crowd began to thin, carriages 
and cabs that had been waiting at the college entrance 
driving rapidly away with the departing guests. 

It has been charged that the English Universities — Ox- 
ford especially — have not been sufficiently popular to 
exert the influence upon the masses which their great 
wealth and their almost limitless resources might enable 
them to do. While watching the stately figures of the 
officials, the doctors and dons, strolling about, and listen- 
ing to the chimes from the college towers that broke 
through the strains of music, I could not help recalling 
the terrible arraignment of Thomas Hardy — the despair- 
ing and futile struggle of one poor creature who starved 
and perished from lack of knowledge that was denied 
him. 

As we, too, drove away, the recollection was intensified 
by the sight of a man's face at a window, with a trio of 
little children about him, watching with wistful eyes the 
departure of the guests from the college entrance. But 
there was also the hopeful reflection that the time must 
come, without the shadow of a doubt, when the good 
things of this life, mental and spiritual, as well as material, 
shall be the portion of no favored class ; but the righteous 
reward of the human being who proves himself worthy of 
their possession. 

At no time in the history of mankind had this broad 
and benevolent spirit made such progress as during the 
reign of the sovereign, the anniversary of whose succes- 
sion had just been celebrated here as elsewhere, with uni- 
versal rejoicing. The years that had been full of honor to 
her, had brought corresponding blessings to her people; 



352 A Looker On in London 

and, while want and ignorance and misery still survived, 
it was not the hopeless suffering and degradation that had 
prevailed in preceding reigns. 

The great University, the fountain source of national 
wisdom, had thrown down many of its barriers, and its 
rich opportunities were being placed within reach of all 
who sought to profit by them. From the gardens, still 
flooded with sunshine and filled with cheerful voices, came 
the familiar strains of the national hymn; and, as we 
thought of the bright promise of the future, the protec- 
tion for the down-trodden, the relief for the distressed 
which is the gospel of the new dispensation, the essence 
of modern civilization, we too echoed with profoundest 
sincerity its benediction : "God Save the Queen." 



THE END. 



SEP 18 1899 



